Purposely setting fire or causing a building to be burned is charged as First Degree Arson in Greeley and Weld County. A man is currently facing 141 counts of this Arson crime after he was fingered as the man who started the Spring Fire this year. According to the report, the man admitted to using a fire pit to cook some meat, but was unsuccessful in putting the fire out. It quickly spread, burning more than 107,000 acres and destroying 146 homes. The man recently set the case for trial, stating that intent is the issue.
Weld County First Degree Arson Lawyer: Definition of 1st Degree Arson in Logan and Morgan County
The Weld, Morgan, and Logan County, Colorado law definition of First Degree Arson – C.R.S. 18-4-102 – is:
Likely, what the defense will argue is the intent piece of the law. The statute states that the person must have ‘knowingly’ set fire or ‘knowingly’ causes to burn or be destroyed. According to the law, acting knowingly means that you are aware that your conduct is practically certain to cause the result. I believe that the defense will argue that the fire was not set intentionally. The man was, instead, purposely using the fire and it got out of control – meaning there was no intent. Intent can be an extremely difficult thing to argue, because it’s really about what people were thinking, which is hard to prove or disprove.
Sentence for First Degree Arson in Erie and Evans
In Greeley, Erie, and Evans, First Degree Arson is a class 3 felony. A class 3 felony is punishable by 4 to 12 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections and up to $750,000 in fines. These fines are not the same as restitution, which is the amount the victims request to cover the costs of the damage caused. I imagine the destruction of 146 homes would carry a high restitution order.