{"id":2449441,"date":"2019-10-02T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-03T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=313765"},"modified":"2019-10-03T08:17:48","modified_gmt":"2019-10-03T14:17:48","slug":"lake-christie-fire-defendants-serving-useful-public-service-at-basalt-area-food-bank-church-conservation-group","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/lake-christie-fire-defendants-serving-useful-public-service-at-basalt-area-food-bank-church-conservation-group\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Christie Fire defendants serving useful public service at Basalt-area food bank, church, conservation group"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"5.8834355828221\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-313765-582\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/firesentencing-atd-070219-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/firesentencing-atd-070219-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Chris Dillmann | cdillmann@vaildaily.com | Allison Marcus listens during her sentencing hearing in the Lake Christine Fire case on July 1.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1.5\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Allison Marcus listens during her sentencing hearing in the Lake Christine Fire case on July 1.<\/strong><br \/>Chris Dillmann | cdillmann@vaildaily.com<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/firesentencing-atd-070219-1-1.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Allison Marcus listens during her sentencing hearing in the Lake Christine Fire case on July 1.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/6M1A6777-1024x717-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/6M1A6777-1024x717-1024x717.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"|\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/6M1A6777-1024x717-1024x717.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/lake-christie-fire-defendants-serving-useful-public-service-at-basalt-area-food-bank-church-conservation-group\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/lake-christie-fire-defendants-serving-useful-public-service-at-basalt-area-food-bank-church-conservation-group\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">The couple convicted of starting the Lake Christine Fire in July 2018 are volunteering at a food bank, a church and a conservation organization to work off the 1,500 hours of useful public service that were part of their sentence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Richard Miller and Allison Marcus, both 24, made arrangements with the 5th Judicial District probation office to volunteer for the Basalt-based Roaring Fork Conservancy, the regional food bank Lift Up and Cornerstone Community Church in the El Jebel area.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Miller explored the idea of becoming a volunteer firefighter to work off his community service, but the idea fizzled for unknown reasons, according to documents from the probation office obtained by The Aspen Times in a Colorado open records request.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Miller and Marcus reached a <a id=\"N0x2325930N0x223d140:N0x2325930N0x21e78e8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/lake-christine-fire-defendants-plead-guilty-to-misdemeanor-face-45-days-in-jail-and-100k-restitution\/\">plea agreement<\/a> with the District Attorney\u2019s Office where they pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of setting fire to woods or prairie. In return, three felony charges of arson against each of them were dismissed.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote p402_hide\" readability=\"2\">\n<blockquote readability=\"7\">\n<p>Richard Miller explored the idea of becoming a volunteer firefighter to work off his community service, but the idea fizzled for unknown reasons.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">They were sentenced on July 1 to 45 days in jail, $100,000 each in restitution, five years of probation and 1,500 hours of useful public service.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Victims of the fire \u2014 those who had their homes burned down or threatened \u2014 said at the sentencing hearing that Miller and Marcus should be assigned public service that was <a id=\"N0x2325930N0x223d1a0:N0x2325930N0x21e7a98\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/victims-recall-toll-of-lake-christine-fire-call-for-penalty-to-fit-the-crime\/\">related to the recovery<\/a> from the fire, such as planting trees in the burn scar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Eagle County District Judge Paul Dunkelman said at the July 1 hearing he agreed that the community service should be \u201crelated in some form to this fire.\u201d He left it to the probation office to work out the details.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cReally what I\u2019m saying is it\u2019s not going to be going to the animal shelter,\u201d Dunkelman said. \u201cThose are good things to do but they\u2019re not what we\u2019re going to do in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The useful public service sheets for Miller and Marcus note, \u201cCommunity service to be related to some form of impact from this fire and\/or the impact related to the nature of this incident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">They must complete the 1,500 hours by June 1, 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">A follow-up email from the probation officer to Miller dated July 16 indicated he was looking into the idea of getting firefighter training and volunteering with a department. There is no record of why the idea didn\u2019t fly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cSome thoughts that I had were Basalt Fire Department, Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, Aspen Fire Department, Snowmass Fire Department, Roaring Fork Conservancy, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Crown Mountain Park, Salvation Army, any of the churches that set up donation sites or housed and feed (sic) displaced residents, Aspen Sopris Ranger District,\u201d the probation officer wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The probation office provided an email Wednesday to show what type of service had been approved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cMr. Miller has been working on a consistent UPS schedule with Lift Up (an agency that provided a food bank to the community during the fire), Cornerstone Church (the probation officer is working on verifying in what capacity they assisted the community) and the Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (an agency that has helped with reseeding efforts in the area),\u201d the email said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201c(Miller) has committed to continuing to look for opportunities to volunteer that are relevant to the court orders,\u201d the email continued. \u201cThese opportunities may be limited during the winter season. Efforts to reseed and plant trees are being planned for the spring 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Information provided by the probation office was nearly identical regarding Marcus\u2019s public service, though it noted that Cornerstone Church \u201cprovided foods\/meals at Basalt Elementary School for evacuees\u201d during the Lake Christine Fire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The probation office didn\u2019t respond to a request from The Aspen Times on how volunteer time at Lift Up or the church complied with the judge\u2019s mandate that the public service be related to the fire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers has undertaken work related to the fire recovery. It organized a community volunteer day in June where <a id=\"N0x2325930N0x223d200:N0x2325930N0x21e81e8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/nearly-300-volunteers-step-in-to-help-reseed-basalt-mountain-after-lake-christine-fire\/\">areas of the burn scar were reseeded<\/a> by hand. The organization plans additional work in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Officials from Lift Up and Cornerstone Community Church couldn\u2019t be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon about the nature of the volunteer work by Miller and Marcus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ninth Judicial District Attorney Bruce Brown didn\u2019t return messages via voicemail or email Wednesday regarding the propriety of the useful public service being pursued by Miller and Marcus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Cleve Williams, a firefighter who lost his house in the Lake Christine Fire, said it was unclear to him how the public service with Lift Up and the church complied with the judge\u2019s order.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He noted that Basalt Mountain experienced a thistle outbreak after the fire. Invasive weeds often proliferate in a burn area. Perhaps Miller and Marcus could volunteer to eradicate the thistle, Williams said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:scondon@aspentimes.com\">scondon@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/lake-christie-fire-defendants-serving-useful-public-service-at-basalt-area-food-bank-church-conservation-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Allison Marcus listens during her sentencing hearing in the Lake Christine Fire case on July 1.Chris Dillmann | cdillmann@vaildaily.com Show CaptionsHide Captions The couple convicted of starting the Lake Christine Fire in July 2018 are volunteering at a food bank, a church and a conservation organization to work off the 1,500 hours of useful public [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2449441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 17:07:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2449441"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2449459,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2449441\/revisions\/2449459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2449441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2449441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2449441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}