Five suspects in custody
by E.E.Mullens
HUERFANO — Deputies on patrol last Sunday morning, Dec. 10, discovered a burglary in progress at a currently closed commercial marijuana grow site which resulted in the arrest of four Walsenburg residents.
From late summer through the beginning of these winter months, county law enforcement officers have seen an increase of break-ins especially in rural, or semi-rural areas of Huerfano County.
The break-in at Walsenburg Cannabis, located at 23054 US Highway 160, west of Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center, was discovered by patrol staff at 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
That location has been a target of thieves at least twice, with another reported burglary investigated Nov. 29.
The commercial grow operation has been closed for over a year, but law enforcement officials say it has been the target of criminals who have reportedly stolen a number of infrastructure items and caused thousands of dollars in damages. Estimates of the value of stolen items, which have included grow lights, water system fixtures, copper piping and other materials, and damage to remaining property and systems is still being determined. Sheriff’s office investigators and the current property owner, David Lesser, have estimated the losses and damage to be between $150,000-and-$200,000.
The current investigation at the grow location is being led by Sheriff’s Captain Bill LaPorte.
Speaking generally about the rash of burglaries around the county, HCSO Captain Craig Lessar said, “ A number of Walsenburg suspects and charged defendants seem to be committing the majority of burglaries in the county.”
Those arrested in the Dec. 10 incident at Walsenburg Cannabis, as reflected in the HCSO Jail Roster, include; 30-year old Jake Mario Vigil of E. Indiana Ave., Walsenburg, who has been arrested on felony charges of criminal mischief between $100,000 and $1M, attempted second degree burglary, trespassing at an enclosed/fenced property, theft-between $20,000 and $100,000, accessory to crime and conspiracy. Ernesto Gerard Campos, 47, of Polk Ave., Walsenburg was arrested on nearly the same charges as Vigil, as was Scott Allan Aguirre, 40, of S. Oak St., La Veta. Aguirre and Campos face second degree burglary charges, but not attempted second degree burglary charges. Derek Alan Romero, 38, of Riverside Drive, Walsenburg was arrested on the same charges of Aguirre and Campos.
Fifty-year old Richard William Pearson, whose listed address in jail records is an apartment in Salem, OR, was taken into custody at the same time as the other suspects, 1:05 p.m. Dec. 10, and has been charged with six felony counts that exactly mirror those of Vigil.
Local law enforcement officials say this investigation continues as does a residential burglary case from a Bear Creek address, described as a home located below the former scout ranch, in which some property including firearms and a vehicle have been recovered.
Officials told the World Journal this week that search warrant services late this summer on two city residences resulted in not only drug, but also stolen property possession charges against suspects.
Sheriff’s deputies are also reportedly investigating a possible burglary at the former Martra marijuana grow location on East Hwy. 10, in which a gate lock was broken and a security camera and trailer may have been stolen. That property was the subject of a court-ordered sheriff’s sale earlier this month, with the former owner retaining some of the property, so the matter of what may have been stolen and what may have been removed legally by that owner, if that is the case, is still being investigated.
Lesser, the owner of the Walsenburg Cannabis property, was coincidentally on the agenda of the Dec. 12, county commissioners agenda, to give a quarterly report on the status of potential sale of the property and its current condition. Lesser did mention the vandalism incident from Dec. 10, but did not say anything about thefts from November.
Lesser is required to report to the board of commissioners quarterly as a condition of keeping the property’s conditional use permit (CUP 15-010) intact. He said the recent incidents have affected his ability to close a sale on the property.
