Jeffrey Campos, the former leader of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Denver who resigned last week after his arrest, was charged Wednesday with assaulting a female chamber member with whom he had an ongoing “personal and business relationship.”
Charging documents filed in the case say Campos assaulted real-estate broker Jennifer Reins, who owns Reins Realty in Denver.
The two met for dinner at the Edge restaurant inside the Four Seasons Hotel in Lower Downtown about 7 p.m. July 14 and left together in Campos’ car. While driving around, Campos allegedly grabbed Reins by the neck, prosecutors said.
The alleged incident was “the result of Mr. Campos having terminated a personal and business relationship with Ms. Reins,” said Gary Lozow, Campos’ attorney.
“They did have a relationship, long-since terminated,” Lozow said.
He also said Campos “still lives at home and is working on his marital relationship.”
Neither Reins nor Campos has returned calls from The Denver Post.
Several people close to the chamber have said Reins traveled with Campos on chamber business. Reins, 33, is a member of the Hispanic Chamber, according to its directory online.
“Hence the personal and business relationship,” Lozow said, adding that it had been a “short-term” one.
Prosecutors have labeled the case as domestic violence.
Campos, 55, resigned July 29 as president and chief executive of the state’s second-largest chamber organization. That happened days after the chamber board placed him on paid administrative leave after his arrest July 21 on the assault charge as well as a felony kidnapping charge. Prosecutors did not file the kidnapping charge.
“Indeed the charges were overblown,” Lozow said of the kidnapping charge. “Now the allegation is this misdemeanor, and it’s simply an allegation. Not unlike the first, we don’t think there’s a basis for it.”
Campos is scheduled to appear in Denver County Court on Sept. 2.
Campos was in the insurance business before taking on the chamber job in 2005.
The chamber launched a search to replace Campos after his resignation. The board named former Denver mayoral candidate James Mejia to the interim job during the search. Mejia has said he is not seeking the post.
The chamber is preparing for its largest fundraising event, Sabor, at the Denver Botanic Gardens tonight. The event is sold out for the first time in its four-year history. About 3,000 people are expected to attend, and the organization hopes to raise more than $50,000.
Mejia said despite the disruption of Campos’ arrest and resignation, the chamber staff has remained relatively unaffected.
“That distraction hasn’t infiltrated the working of the staff,” Mejia said. “I think the board has done an excellent job of moving quickly and handling that, which has allowed people to do their jobs.”
The board is expected to set a timeline for hiring a replacement Aug. 23.
Staff writer Justin Hilley contributed to this report.
David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com
