Over the past ten years, Colorado Democrats have steadily added more gun control laws to the books; from bans on “large capacity” magazines to “red flag” laws… all in the name of increasing public safety.

Even as the state has cracked down on lawful gun owners, violent crime has continued to rise. Denver has seen a 3% increase in homicides so far this year compared to last, and one of the city’s most recent murders happened Monday night when a 51-year-old rideshare driver was shot and killed in what police are calling a random attack. As it turns out, the suspect accused in the killing is no stranger to law enforcement, and arguably should have been in jail instead of on the streets when he allegedly opened fire with a gun he wasn’t allowed to possess.

Michael Gawain Jackson was charged with four counts of domestic violence on Aug. 31 in the alleged kidnapping and assault of a 22-year-old woman. He was released on a personal recognizance bond, which means he didn’t have to post any money to get released from jail.

Under Colorado law, suspects charged in domestic violence cases are ordered to give up any firearms they own.

The Problem Solvers obtained a court document signed by Michael G. Jackson on Sept. 1, where he checked a box that stated: “I am acknowledging I do not have a firearm(s) or ammunition in my immediate possession or control or subject to my immediate possession or control.”

Yet just 18 days later, he would be arrested for what the Denver Police Department said was the random murder of a 51-year-old rideshare driver.

The recent domestic violence charges weren’t Jackson’s first run-in with the law. According to KDVR-TV, he was also due in court next week to be sentenced in another violent crime… one that resulted in a sweetheart plea deal from prosecutors.

It turns out Jackson was set to be sentenced on Monday, Sept. 25, for assaulting two Denver Police officers earlier this year.

On Feb. 25, two officers responded to the 1400 block of North Logan Street after a woman called 911 to say Jackson had been drinking alcohol and had “blacked out” and was attempting to attack her. The woman told dispatchers that Jackson needed to go to detox and wanted officers to check on his well-being.

When two police officers arrived to check on Jackson’s welfare, Jackson punched a male officer in the left cheek and a female officer in the face, according to court documents.

After he was arrested, police discovered he had three extraditable warrants.

On Aug. 11, prosecutors dismissed two counts of felony assault against a peace officer and allowed Jackson to plead guilty to a lesser count of criminal attempt to commit assault in the second degree. He was supposed to receive probation, although that sentence may not happen in light of his new charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and felony menacing.

In less than a year Jackson has managed to be charged with at least five felony offenses, but at every turn the criminal justice system has sought to free him without consequences for his actions… at least until he was accused of murdering a stranger in cold blood. Now that he’s facing first-degree murder charges, prosecutors will probably get tough on Jackson, but they had the opportunity to put him behind bars months ago and refused to do so. Instead, they offered him probation and a misdemeanor plea after assaulting two cops and allowed him to bond out without ponying up a penny (or even holding him as a risk to the community) after being accused of domestic violence and kidnapping.

Colorado doesn’t have a “gun” problem. It has a violent crime problem, and that’s not going to be solved by criminalizing the right to keep and bear arms in self-defense. Second Amendment advocates are doing a good job of taking on the gun control laws approved by the legislature, but until the voters in Colorado wake up to the damage that the Democrats’ agenda is doing to both public safety and their right of self-defense, stories like Jackson’s are gonna be depressingly and dangerously routine.