<\/p>\n
A jury found a Mancos woman guilty Thursday of criminal mischief for causing $20,000 to $100,000 in damage to the Dove Creek Fire Protection District when she excavated the fire district\u2019s property, adjacent to her bakery.<\/p>\n
Julie Ott, 50, was convicted of a Class 4 felony and will be required to pay restitution to the fire district. The jury concluded that in May 2017 Ott unlawfully and knowingly damaged the district\u2019s property. It stopped short of convicting Ott on a charge of conspiracy to commit criminal mischief.<\/p>\n
The Dolores County case moved to Montezuma in December. Sentencing is scheduled for March 14.<\/p>\n
Ott displayed billboards on the side of the La Watha LLC bakery building on U.S. Highway 491 that displayed a variety of themes, including personal attacks on firefighters and a quote from the Declaration of Independence.<\/p>\n
The jury of eight women and five men had the option of finding Ott guilty of causing $5,000 to $20,000 in damage or $20,000 to $100,000 in damage. Jurors chose the higher range.<\/p>\n
DCFPD board president Dan Johnson said he believes the verdict was fair and he felt one conviction was enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the citizens and taxpayers of Dove Creek and Dolores County are somewhat vindicated by the decision, by the verdict, but as far as winners \u2013 there\u2019s no winners in this, we\u2019re all losers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He said the fire district received an estimate showing damage at Dove Creek Volunteer Fire Department Station No. 1 at $49,000. He said the billboards were \u201cblasphemous to the fire department in general and to fire department members individually.\u201d<\/p>\n
Assistant Fire Chief Grant Allen said the Otts installed video cameras too and that he was proud that none of the firefighters \u201cdid anything stupid\u201d in response to the billboards and cameras.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomehow we became the aggressors and they became the victims, and that\u2019s how they tried to portray themselves,\u201d Allen said of the billboards.<\/p>\n
District Attorney Will Furse said Ott\u2019s daughter, Angela Ott, was a named and uncharged co-conspirator. According to the Colorado Secretary of State, Angela Ott is the registered agent of La Watha, which owns two parcels on U.S. 491 in Dove Creek.<\/p>\n
Furse said his office has the discretion to charge Angela Ott but that he was satisfied with Julie Ott\u2019s conviction.<\/p>\n
Furse said Julie Ott will likely pay $20,000 to $100,000.<\/p>\n
During the four-day trial, Ott was advised by counsel Cameron Secrist. On Wednesday, she called her daughter as a witness and questioned her.<\/p>\n
Angela Ott testified that a week after they excavated the backside of the bakery property, the fire department placed a pin on the excavated area and claimed it was on its property.<\/p>\n
She testified that she wanted to resolve the issue civilly and was surprised when she received a letter from Cortez lawyer Kelly McCabe that asked La Watha to deed the lots to the fire district or write a cashier\u2019s check for $55,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis letter shocked me,\u201d Angela Ott said.<\/p>\n
She also testified that the charges filed against her and her mother in February 2018 shocked her further.<\/p>\n
During Angela Otts\u2019 cross-examination, Deputy DA Jeremy Reed claimed she failed to measure the boundary line properly and used the assessor\u2019s map, which contains a disclaimer against using it for legal purposes.<\/p>\n
Ott testified that this was the first time she has purchased property.<\/p>\n
To calculate the property line, she testified that she used the assessor\u2019s map, her taxes and a third property document that states the information displayed is for \u201cfirst land\u201d or \u201cimprovement purposes only.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ott testified that her measurements were correct and that she did not want to \u201cfork out\u201d $2,000 for a property boundary survey when the county assessor told her the maps were accurate.<\/p>\n