Ross Investigators PC, Inc.

,By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger 

"I have nightmares," explains Tom Mills in a phone interview less than two months after Brett Carbone, the Denver Deputy Sheriff who threatened Mills at gunpoint, was sentenced to community service and probation. 

It has been almost a year since Mills knocked on Carbone's Commerce City door to serve papers for an overdue bill of less than $200. The incident, however, left Mills' limbic system, the neuro networks that control emotion, mood and instinct, in a suspended flight/fight state. The ramifications are taking their toll on his business and on his health. 

Mills continues to work. His day to day functions, however, are not what they used to be. He can't do a lot of night serves. "This is a job I used to love," he explains to me. "I used to love doing this work. I was sought after by clients because I was good at it." Post-traumatic stress disorder, he and the medical professional treating him, believe, changed everything. 

According to the American Psychiatric Association, "People with PTSD have intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended."
Mills is suffering from something that has a diagnosis for which there is medication and talk therapy. The recovery process, however, requires time, money and support. 

Mills is still unable to do most night serves and his business has taken a hit financially as a result. "I have nightmares," he tells me. "I keep thinking over and over 'what could I have done'?" He adds that Carbone was a trained police officer yet he still wonders what he could have done to take the gun away. What could he have done? 

Mills feels the court handled Carbone's criminal case fairly since rehabilitation includes probation, community service, anger management seminars and court fees. "I was okay with that" he responds when I directly ask whether or not he thinks it was a fair sentence adding, "I think that's fair with what he did," and acknowledges Carbone "will always be a bully." 

Carbone did apologize to Mills. Unfortunately, Mills has no way of knowing whether or not the apology was sincere, however. "When he did this to me, he lied to the police when they got there," he recalls and then spirals into darker associations. 

"Imagine what happens in jail," Mills says, referring to Carbone's former Sheriff Deputy job. "What has he done to inmates? What has he done to other people?" Mills wonders before reflecting back to the event and his surprise discovery. It wasn't until after Mills got away from Carbone, returned to his car called the police that he learned Carbone was actually an off-duty sheriff's deputy. And Carbone withheld that information until the Adam's county police forcibly disarmed Carbone who initially tried to deny he had threatened Mills with a firearm. The video evidence, however, was already documented on a smart phone. "I had no idea he was a cop!" Mills exclaims again, as though uncovering this reveal for the first time. 

Being a process server is a tough job and it takes tough person to do the job. But Mills, who also happens to be a retired Marine, used to enjoy the job's risks as well as its rewards. Ultimately, "I lost something I really loved doing," he concludes. "Process serving was one of my big passions." 

By Susanna Speier 
Denver Private Investigator Blogger 

In mid-July, the 17th Judicial District Adams and Broomfield Counties District Attorney's Office sent Thomas Mills a letter informing the Colorado process server that former Denver Sheriff's Deputy and Defendant, Brett Carbone --the man who pointed a gun at Mills during a Commerce City serve--- was found guilty of felony menacing charges and sentenced to 1 year probation, 100 hours of community service and fines. 

See also: Are process servers safe, part 1? and Felony Menacing charge issued to the Denver Deputy who pulled a gun on a Colorado private investigator. 

Carbone is "no longer with the Denver Sheriff Department," according to City and County of Denver Sheriff Department Communications Director, Daria Serna who did not provide additional information, however when he pulled a gun on Tom Mills late last year, he was an off duty Sheriff's deputy being served papers for a late bill that was less than $200. 

Was termination of employment and community service a sufficient penalty and rehabilitation measure and has the court taken action to ensure the incident will not just recur the next time an unlucky process server happens to knock on Carbone's Commerce City door? 

In a phone conversation with 17th Judicial District's Chief Information Officer, Sue Lindsay, I was assured that Carbone will indeed undergo a "mental health evaluation and anger management." Lindsay also explained that Carbone will be charged for the probation expense which the court itemized at $2400.

A more extensive interview with Lindsay is be forthcoming and hopefully details like the $2.50 "genetic testing service charge" will be clarified.

In the follow up interview, which will be done over email and perhaps a follow-up call, Lindsay will also address my questions regarding the resources that will be allocated to Mills for treating  Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as Mills now suffers from the condition as a direct result of being threatened at gun point.

Do you have questions for Sue Lindsay or for Tom Mills (who I will interview later this week)?  Feel free to post them in the comments section below. You can also comment on the Twitter feed or Facebook page and all relevant questions will be forwarded. 

By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger
 
If your spouse or significant other is a private investigator they're going to love anything with a detective theme. Not like we're biased or anything but with all the Detective stories and detective inspired iconography out there, how can you not get a detective themed Valentine's Day gift for someone you care about? 

But where do you find unique Valentine's Day gifts for private investigators? We did some investigating ourselves and here's what we came up with:

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​Handmade wooden clip board If you missed our last post or didn't read to the end please note the featured photo of Colorado process server Tom Mills demonstrating how to hold a phone with a clipboard when severing papers.

If your partner is spending a lot of time serving papers then get them a nice, handmade wooden clipboard they're going to love like an Everlasting furniture or Estatoe Woodworks. 

​Wooden phone holder to carry with the wooden clip board since it's Colorado where you can all out with mountain, pine tree themes round we thought we'd also recommend a phone case to match your clip board. This WOODgraw shop phone case has a mountain range actually etched into the wood and this Mandallion has one with "The Mountains are Calling and I must go," engraved.

If you're doing serves in Estes Park, Aspen, Vail, Leadville, Basalt, Carbondale, Evergreen, Winter Park, Avon, Glenwood Springs, Dillon, Manitou Springs or Nederland you'll blend right into mountain dweller culture. 

If you'd rather go the safe and subtle route by calling as little attention as possible to your phone there are plenty of plain wood phone cases on Etsy and you can always ask makers for a custom clipboard and phone set so the fact that the serve is being recorded is all the more discreet.

​Detective mug  coffee mugs are always great gifts for the hard boiled sleuth and we found some nice ones like Themuglyfe's "Only the Strongest Women Become Detectives" mug. 

Agatha Christie Charm Bracelet - if the investigator in your life is an Agatha Christie fan they're going to love this Hercule Poiro charm bracelet. The maker, Murder She Tote, also sells an Agatha Christie Bracelet a Miss Marple Bracelet and a Nancy Drew bracelet! 

By Susanna Speier
Denver Private Investigator Blogger

DENVER - I'm sipping coffee in a beryl-blue-gray vinyl restaurant booth in Capitol Hill's Jelly cafe as Tom Mills steps through the door. Mills' story was brought to my attention by 9News' Kyle Clark and Anastasiya Bolton. Colorado process servers and private investigators are reassessing safety practices and deliberating on how best to minimize risk, following the coverage, which I summarized  in a November 27, 2017 blog post.

After ordering a glass of water --diabetes symptoms were prohibiting coffee-- Mills thoughtfully reviews the printout of questions I’ve handed him. Before starting the interview, I want to know how he’s been doing since the November 6, 2017 Commerce City, Colorado serve that turned into a life threatening situation.

The day of the serve, Mills drove to Adams county to serve papers to Bret Martin Carbone --who also happens to be a Denver Sheriff's deputy. Carbone lied, telling Mills he was just there to take care of the dogs, however, Mills didn't buy it. After returning to his car to verify Carbone's identity on Facebook, Mills returned to Carbone's house to complete the serve. As anyone who has seen the widely posted and shared video knows, Carbone opened the door, pointing a gun at Mills and telling him to get off of his property.

See also: Felony menacing charge issued to the Denver Deputy who pulled a gun on a Colorado private investigator

Despite the threat to his life, Mills actually did manage to complete the serve. "Got in my car shaking like crazy. I already have high blood pressure," he explained. He called the police who arrived just as Carbone was trying to drive away. The police had to order Carbone out of his vehicle and disarm him in order to make the surprise discovery that the perpetrator of the felony menacing charge also happened to be a sheriff's deputy. 

Mills is now being treated for post traumatic stress disorder. He is no longer doing evening and night serves. Although Mills is a military vet who served overseas, he did not have PTSD prior to the November 6, 2017 serve. 

Carbone is now being charged with felony menacing. The case was moved from a local to a district court because of the seriousness of the charge and the next hearing will take place in a district court on January 29th. Two of the female process servers who worked for Mills quit immediately following the incident citing safety concerns. As he now only serves papers during the daytime, when it’s safer, Mills' income has also taken a hit.

Mills is not the first Colorado process server to have a gun pointed in him. Process Servers Association of America President, Steve Glenn had found himself in an almost identical situation when serving papers, however because Glenn had no video evidence and "it was all he said, she said," Mills explained, there were no grounds for pressing legal charges in Glenn's situation because he did not video record his serve. 

For the benefit of every process server reading this, I ask Mills to demonstrate how he records his serves discreetly. Mills holds his phone in front of the clipboard he carries with him when he does his serves. For purposes of a photo demo (below) he holds his phone in front of the paper I handed him with the interview questions printed out.

If you are a process server reading this and you do not video record your serves, please begin doing so immediately. No need to invest in special equipment. All you need is a phone, a clip board and/or piece paper, as shown in the photo below. 
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(end of part 1)