The Pueblo District Attorney's Office will file charges against a sheriff's deputy for a fatal accident last June.

According to District Attorney Bill Thiebaut, Deputy Jonathan Post will be charged with misdemeanor careless driving resulting in death in connection with the June 16 accident that resulted in the death of Willis Green, 74.

Thiebaut said the investigators found that Post was speeding without emergency lights or sirens when he approached the intersection of U.S. Highway 50 and Morris Avenue, slamming into Green's vehicle. Post was pursuing a motorist who left a grocery store without pay $33 for gasoline.

An investigation eventually showed that the suspected gas thief was a Canon City woman who tried to pay at the pump using a debit card and ran into difficulties. She left the pump thinking she had paid for the gas.

Pueblo County Sheriff Dan Corsentino issued a statement that took issue with the decision to file charges. It said in part: We have a different view than that of the district attorney, but we must allow for the facts to be presented in a courtroom. It is key that we remember that every person has, regardless of the allegation or charge, an umbrella of innocence until the judicial process is complete.

The district attorney's report noted that investigators had asked the sheriff's department multiple times for a copy of the department's pursuit policy, but it was never released to the district attorney's office.