The person being praised in this Facebook post by Gwen Devilbiss is Clifford Galley, aka CJ, who certainly knows something about the "worse" part of the sentence above. He was just sentenced to 169 years for a February 2013 police chase during which Devilbiss was shot. She subsequently did time in the wake of the incident -- but she also married Galley, and their love seems strong despite his conviction for actions prosecutors say could easily have resulted in death. Photos, a video and details below.
Just after midnight on February 23 of last year, as we've reported, Parker police officer spotted a "suspicious vehicle" -- one thought to have been stolen -- near a Taco Bell off Plum Creek south of Castle Rock. But when they tried to make contact, shots were fired from the car, which then took off.
The occupants of the vehicle were Devilbiss, David Vasquez and Galley, whose past criminal record featured a potpourri of black marks, including a 2011 drunk-driving conviction and a probation violation the following year related to a drug accusation. And in December 2012, he was accused of threatening a Northglenn cop with a weapon.
Vasquez faced a beef, too: He was scheduled for an upcoming court hearing over allegations of car theft and possession of burglary tools.
The subsequent chase ripped through Castle Rock, with more shots being fired -- and when police tried to put a stop to the action near the intersection of Crowfoot Valley Road and Stroh Road, more destruction followed. The suspects are said to have rammed a squad car, injuring two officers in the process (one had minor abrasions, the other suffered a broken finger) before abandoning the car and fleeing the scene on foot.One of them -- Devilbiss -- didn't get far...because she'd been shot. The wound didn't prove to be life-threatening.
Shortly thereafter, the Parker PD named Galley as a person of interest and released the following photo:
A CodeRED emergency mass notification was sent out to homes in a one-mile radius of the spot where Galley and Vasquez vanished, with calls made to over 3,000 phone numbers advising residents to stay put. Meanwhile, approximately 100 cops from ten different agencies pitched in to round up the scofflaws. And by about 6:30 a.m., they'd managed to do so: Galley and Vasquez were taken into custody and hit with multiple allegations: As noted by the Parker Chronicle in August 2013, Galley faced 35 charges and Vasquez at least eight, with a judge decrying their "extreme indifference" to the value of human life.Devilbiss didn't immediately face counts against her, but this past March, the Castle Rock News-Press reported that she had admitted "serving as a lookout for Galley and Vasquez while they broke into open garages and unlocked cars in Castle Rock" -- an offense for which she was later charged and apparently received time behind bars. A Facebook post from April reads in part, "When I get back out of jail I am going to do my best to quit smoking cigarettes too. Try to get healthy, my body has been through enough."
She doesn't appear to have held her experiences against Galley. Her Facebook page notes that they were married in November 2013, just under seven months after the chase. The following March, she posted this photo....
...along with the caption, "My beautiful ring!!!! Happily married."Shortly thereafter, she added, "I'm so sick of these people fucking with my husband, I wish they would just leave us alone!!! I am beyond mad right now. They can try to pull us apart but we are one, no one can change that."
In May, Devilbiss and Galley were able to visit -- a session commemorated with this image:
A few weeks later, she posted: "Seeing my husband was soo amazing I missed him soo much!!!! Such a good visit he is the most amazing man in the world!!!! Feeling very blessed."Nonetheless, the law has definitely put plenty of obstacles before them. In June, according to an 18th Judicial District DA's office release, Galley was found guilty on seventeen of eighteen offenses that were ultimately pressed against him, including attempted first-degree murder. In a statement, DA George Brauchler said, "Today a conscientious and detail-oriented jury reinforced a simple truth in this community, that we will protect those who protect us. It is only by luck and divine intervention that this was not a murder trial about the deaths of those who have dedicated their lives to preserving the peace in our neighborhoods. It is fitting for this extreme, wide-ranging, lethal conduct to result in a potential sentence to prison of more years than we've been a country."
The charges could have resulted in a max sentence of 257 years. However, 9News reveals that he was ultimately given just 169.
Thus far, Devilbiss hasn't shared her thoughts about the sentence. But her profile photo continues to be the one at the top of this post, showing her and Galley before that fateful night in Castle Rock.
Here's a 9News piece about the incident from 2013, followed by another photo of Galley.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
