Expert: Catherine - 8/30/2008

Question
the question is....when and what episodes lead up to colin getting caught and charged and trial for a conviction...

Answer
Kelly and Colin had been doing cocaine for a lot of season 6.  When Kelly went into rehab, Colin continued to do cocaine.  In the episode "Leap of Faith," Colin drives his old dealer Danny to a drug house in Torrance.  The police arrive at the house and Colin panics and pulls and OJ Simpson and leads them on a high speed chase (it's aired on TV and the other characters all watch).. finally.. Colin is caught.. and over the next few episodes... Valerie puts the After Dark up as collateral to pay for Colin's bail because they start dating (even though he continues to try to reach out to Kelly).. he is released from jail but is completely terrified of going to jail again.  He is paired with a public defender, but Valerie pays for a very expensive lawyer instead.  The lawyer works out a deal with the DA so that Colin will only have to serve 6 months in a halfway "martha stuart-type" house, but the judge rejects the deal because he is tired of seeing druggies get off so easily.. so he sentences colin to 3 years in the state pen... Valerie tries to help Colin prepare to turn him self in. .  Colin goes to turn himself in, but he sees some of the other inmates and panics.  He steals Valerie's car and drives away which means that if Valerie can't find him - she loses the $100,000 bond (which also affects Nat because she put up the After Dark).  Kelly sets up a sting operation to catch him, but he is onto him so the police miss him by about 20 minutes.  Colin decides to head to Mexico, and Valerie tries to hire Jonesy to help - he ends up sending an FBI agent in his place.  Brandon and Steve see Colin at a bar during a break from Steve's birthday party "You Say it's your birthday parts 1 & 2" (they get in fights with Clare and Susan).. and the guys start chasing Colin.  They finally catch him and the police take him away.  

Episodes:
168   Leap of Faith    2/28/1996    - COLIN HIGH SPEED CHASE
169   Coming Out, Getting Out, Going Out    3/13/1996   
170   Smashed    3/20/1996    
171   Flirting With Disaster    4/3/1996    
172   Strike the Match    4/10/1996    
173   The Big Hurt    5/1/1996    - COLIN IS SENTENCED TO STATE PEN
174   Ticket to Ride    5/8/1996 - COLIN FLEES IN VALERIE'S CAR
175   Ray of Hope    5/15/1996    - FAILED STING OPERATION
176   You Say It's Your Birthday (1)    
177   You Say It's Your Birthday (2)  - COLIN FINALLY CAUGHT

I hope that was what you were looking for (and wasn't too long!)