A recap of what is currently publicly known about the November 2023 killings and where the case stands
On November 20, 2023, the regional population was transfixed with the news that three community members had been shot and killed, and another severely wounded, near the Custer/Fremont County border, close to the Oak Creek Grade; a winding dirt road that connects Westcliffe and Silver Cliff to Cañon City. A short manhunt located and arrested the suspect, Hanme Clark, who was seemÂingly fleeing to New Mexico with his partner Nancy Medina-Kochis, the next day, on November 21, 2023.
The local population widely assumed that the incident had been an ambush by Clark against his neighbors, who had been engaged in legal battles over road access and property lines for years. Rocky Ridge Road has been the source of over two decades of legal battles among various property owners because the small plots of land are situÂated on a rocky slope of a hill. Roads and property lines that were platted in the 1970s are generally inaccurate, and roads are not able to follow the platted easements due to the extreme terrain.
Before November 20, 2023
The tension building between the parties before the tragedy that occurred on November 20, 2023, requires context. The Tribune has been researching and monitorÂing this court case for the past two years, and many of the assumptions at the start of the case have proven to be more complex than initially believed (please note this is a sumÂmary of the information, as it is not possible to publish all details here). Hanme Clark and Nancy Medina-Kochis filed several court cases and had also been sued in return over road access and property line locations. As the cases progressed, Clark and Medina-Kochis had not fared well, often losing or not getting what they requested. The most serious tensions were with the immediate neighbors: Patty and James Daulton, Rob Geers with Beth Wade.
While it is not known how many times each of the parties contacted the Custer County Sheriffâs Office to report that they felt threatened, we do know that reports of people trespassing while armed had been made repeatÂedly. During court hearings, the attorneys representing Hanme Clark filed what are known as discovery violaÂtion court motions. The hearings involving these motions, held in March for the first time, revealed that a Custer County Deputy had visited Rob Geers and Beth Wade at their home shortly before November 20.
Geers and Wade had returned from a vacation and claimed that they had recorded Hanme Clark on their property while he was armed. Custer County Sheriffâs Deputy Brandon Thurston had gone to meet with the couple at their home and told them that all he could do was advise them to arm themselves. Thurston at some point promised that a Sheriffâs Deputy would be present with what they call a âcivil standbyâ on November 20.
November 20, 2023
The two households that neighbored Hanme Clarkâs property had planned on surveying the property line between the three properties and marking that boundary with fence posts and a future fence. A surveyor, along with all four victims, met the morning of November 20, accompanied by Deputy Thurston, who was supposed to provide civil standby. Rob Geers and James Daulton had armed themselves as advised by Deputy Thurston. It seems that the group thought Hanme Clark might not have even been at home during the survey, as Clark and Medina-Kochis had planned to head to New Mexico for Thanksgiving.
At some point before the shooting, Deputy Thurston left the scene. After Deputy Thurston left the civil standby, Hanme Clark noticed that the group of five people was surveying the property line. According to testimony from the surveyor, who was standing a little way off, Hanme Clark arrived with a gun on his hip. An argument started between Hanme Clark and Rob Geers. The argument ended in gunfire as allegedly Clark was able to shoot and kill James Daulton, Rob Geers, Beth Wade, and severely injure Patty Daulton. The surveyor was able to flee and call 911 for help.
The long two-year court maneuverings
The gist of the incident only came out during hearÂings that focused on the question of whether the District Attorneyâs Office and the Sheriffâs Office had violated discovery rules or had inappropriately searched Hanme Clarkâs property without a warrant. Presiding District Court Judge Lauren Swan was careful not to allow the hearings to focus on the facts and evidence of the case itself, but instead on whether there had been discovery issues. Generally, details are not presented to the judge and jury until the actual jury trial.
Judge Swan did find some discovery violations made by the prosecution, but the sanctions were limited. More serious was when Judge Swan ruled that the Custer County Sheriffâs Office had violated the Federal and State Constitutions when Undersheriff Susan Barnes had erred in ordering two deputies to search the Hanme Clark PropÂerty a second time without a valid warrant. The evidence they collected will not be allowed to be used in the trial, but the details of what evidence would be struck are not known.
The defense violates discovery at the last minute
Yet, on the eve of the two-week trial set to begin on Monday, September 21, the defense for Hanme Clark vioÂlated discovery rules by surprising the prosecution and the courts with an untimely endorsement of an expert witÂness and a late notice of an alibi defense. âI want to make sure the rules are being followed by both sides,â Swan said before changing the trial date. â⊠This court has considered a number of sanctions against the prosecution for late discovery, and so the court is also considering a sanction here for late discovery by the defense at this point in time.â
This 11th-hour move by the defense is unlikely to be a simple error, as Janene K. McCabe, who represents Hanme Clark, is one of the best criminal defense attorÂneys in the State of Colorado. She was the Board PresiÂdent of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar Association in 2023-24 and was named the 2009 Colorado State Public Defender of the Year. However, it is not clear at the time of this publication the reason behind the violation, which caused the trial to be moved to February 2 through 20, 2026.
The Tribune will continue to follow the case as it develops. The case was moved to Fremont County for several reasons, one being false reporting by the Sangre de Cristo Sentinel Newspaper, which might have biased the jury pool and that the Custer County Court Room was not large enough for the jury selection with concerns over security.
â Jordan Hedberg
