Vail Daily
EAGLE — The curious case of Craig Miller, the father of Lake Christine Fire suspect Richard Miller, is either a massive miscommunication or a case study in anger management.
Craig Miller’s criminal menacing trial started Tuesday morning. Prosecutors say he was furious when he allegedly went to a neighbor’s house late at night July 14, 2018, beat on the door with a flashlight and tried to open the locked door.
It was nothing of the sort, Craig Miller’s defense attorney Michael Fox said Tuesday in court. His client calmly walked to his neighbors’ door, rang the doorbell and knocked.
The source of the upheaval was an agreement between the District Attorney’s Office and Miller’s son Richard Miller and fellow Lake Christine fire suspect Allison Marcus. Craig Miller wanted a calm weekend family visit with his 74-year old mother, and then Richard Miller and Marcus would turn themselves in the following Monday for their alleged part in sparking the Lake Christine Fire, which burned more than 12,500 acres on state, federal and private lands and destroyed three houses.
Fox insisted to the jury that the neighbor, Joseph Lewis, created the disturbance when, after calling 911, Lewis was screaming so loudly that other neighbors heard it as he approached Miller and two deputies with a piece of metal that looked like a tire iron.
This is a developing story that will be updated.