The executive director of the Trailhead Group, a conservative, Republican campaign group, is being investigated on possible criminal charges for filing a political ad that the group knew was false.

El Paso County District Attorney John R. Newsome said his office is investigating the allegation that Trailhead "willfully" made a false statement intended to influence an election. "We are investigating the matter. We're probably closer to the end of the investigation than the beginning," said Newsome, a Republican. "It will probably be concluded in two weeks."

But John P. Morse, a Democratic state senate candidate from El Paso County and the target of the ad, saw irony in Newsome's timing.

"He probably meant three weeks, since the election is in 19 days," Morse said.

At issue in the ad was an event on Halloween, 2003, when Morse was chief of police in Fountain. A man who barricaded himself in his home fired numerous shots when police surrounded his house. He was arrested and initially charged with 15 counts of attempted murder, menacing and others, Morse said.

One officer later became unsure if the shots had been fired directly at her, which would have negated the attempted murder charges. So the case was reduced to one felony count of menacing, to which the man agreed to plead guilty. He was sentenced to three years in state prison, Morse said.

But the ad, according to both Morse and Trailhead, claimed the man was charged only with a misdemeanor, and didn't state that he was sentenced to prison.

Morse filed a complaint with the district attorney's office that the ad, which ran in El Paso broadcast outlets for one week in early September, was blatantly false because court documents showed the charge was a felony and that the man was sentenced. Morse also charged that Trailhead sent out two mailers after the ad with the same false information.

Philp failed to return calls. His attorney, Nathan Chambers, refused to comment. Attorney Scott Gessler, a friend of Philp's, said Trailhead was unaware of the mistake until Morse filed his complaint. He said Trailhead "erred."

The Trailhead Group was formed by Gov. Bill Owens and several wealthy Republicans, including Bruce Benson and Pete Coors, to campaign for Republican candidates.