01
People v. John Lott
Criminal defense investigator, retained by defense counsel.
Criminal defense investigation
Retained by defense counsel on matters including first-degree murder, attempted murder, sexual assault and kidnapping.
Certified Legal Investigator · Licensed Private Detective (Wyoming)
Craig Smith, CLI
Investigations for attorneys, law firms and private clients since 2014. Founder of BrightStar Investigations and a U.S. Army veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
3,600+Invoiced matters
4,300+Surveillance hours
50+Court appearances
500+Witness interviews
12Years in continuous practice
Profile
Careful work, documented so it can be used in court.
Craig Smith founded BrightStar Investigations in 2014 and has led it as principal investigator through more than 3,600 documented matters: criminal defense, surveillance, missing persons, skip tracing and intelligence work for clients in Colorado, nationwide and abroad.
His investigations have been admitted as evidence, and he has testified in criminal and civil proceedings. He holds a BA in Intelligence Studies, with a minor in Arabic, from Mercyhurst University’s Institute for Intelligence Studies, and an MS Ed. from Canisius College. Before that, he served in the U.S. Army with the 4th Infantry Division, including the invasion phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Practice
Surveillance
4,300+ documented hours of mobile, fixed and covert surveillance across Colorado and multiple states.
Witness interviews
500+ formal interviews, documented and produced for trial use.
Post-conviction review
Post-conviction relief investigations, including case reviews for potential wrongful conviction.
Skip tracing & missing persons
Multi-jurisdictional location work, from evasive subjects to missing persons.
Digital & OSINT
Social media and digital footprint investigation with X1 Social Discovery, CLEAR, Hunchly and i2 Analyst Notebook.
Selected matters
Public court cases
A selection of public matters on which Craig was retained. A full case portfolio is available on request.
02
People v. Shaquille Brown
Criminal defense investigator, retained by defense counsel.
03
People v. Carie Hallford
Criminal defense investigator, retained by defense counsel.
04
People v. Lauren Marie Dooley
Criminal defense investigator, retained by defense counsel.
Media
A&E — Accused: Guilty or Innocent?
People v. John Lott, a case Craig investigated for the defense, was featured in Season 7, Episode 5, “Violent Gunman or Brain Trauma Victim?” — nationally televised April 10, 2025.
Service
U.S. Army, 1999 – 2004
4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson. 75+ combat missions in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Army Commendation Medal. Honorably discharged.
Case notes
Notes on the work
Short, general explainers on how investigations support legal cases.
Criminal defense
What a defense investigator does
The prosecution has police. The defense has to build its own factual record, and that is the investigator’s job.
Surveillance
How surveillance evidence holds up in court
Video is persuasive, but only if it gets admitted and survives cross-examination. Most of that is decided in the field.
Digital & OSINT
OSINT basics for legal cases
Open-source intelligence can find witnesses, test alibis and show what someone said publicly. Here is how to collect it so it can be used.
In the field
On the job
With the people he works alongside.
Colleagues’ faces are obscured for privacy.
Engagements
Retain Craig Smith
Investigations are handled through BrightStar Investigations, which Craig founded in 2014 and leads as principal investigator.