Alleged arsonist slated for hearing

SAN LUIS — Jesper Joergensen, a 53-year-old immigrant from Denmark who is in the U.S. illegally and accused of more than 200 charges of felony arson is again slated for a hearing in Costilla County District Court.

He will appear at 1:30 p.m. today.

During June 2018, he was declared incompetent and was admitted to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo, which didn't have a bed.

Then-12th District Attorney Crista Newmyer-Olsen, said a hearing was required to admit him for restoration and the courts were waiting for CMHIP. Until then the local courts could do nothing with him.

He was housed briefly in the Arapahoe County Detention Center's Restoring Individuals Safely and Effectively program, but has been back in the Costilla County jail for a while, according to Sheriff Danny Sanchez, who said he wasn't sure what Thursday's hearing would entail.

In June 2017, Joergensen allegedly started the Spring Fire, which destroyed thousands of wooded acres and numerous homes in Costilla and Huerfano counties.

He was arrested June 27, 2017 near Mountain Home Reservoir and reportedly admitted he built a fire pit and cooked some meat in the area where the fire started.

He also reportedly claimed to have burned some trash, while a burn ban was in place.

Joergensen appeared to be irrational at a 2018 preliminary hearing when he waved a sheaf of papers and handwritten materials before presiding 6th Judicial District Judge Gregory G. Lyman of Durango, presiding after all judicial employees were recused due to the fact that some lost homes and cabins in the fire.

An illegal national who stayed in the United States after his work visa expired, Joergensen turned the preliminary hearing into a forum in which to enter his own motions and voice his own opinions.

He was bound over for trial on the arson charges, all felonies.

The Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement has an immigration detainer on Joergensen, who had an expired worker’s visa when arrested.

These detainers are placed on immigrants who are likely up for deporting, as well as immigrants who have allegedly committed a crime. Basically, the detainer means ICE would likely take custody of the person if and when they are released from jail for any reason.

Before the incident, he wrote  

repeatedly on social media about anarchy and hatred of government and now faces trial on more than 200 felony charges.

He was bound over for trial Feb. 14, 2019 in Costilla County and faced charges from Huerfano.

On April 23, 2019, Joergensen was back in the courtroom for a status update on the motions filed by both the defense and prosecution.

Disputing the charges, Joergensen claimed his attorney wasn’t giving him information on the case and asked the judge for new representation.

While evidence taken didn’t support any deliberate action by Joergensen to start the raging wildfire, the inspector said he did start an initial fire by open burning when a Stage One Burn Ban was in effect.

Inspector David Chadwell, tasked with primarily enforcing fire and building code compliance, said he was told to determine the origin of the wildfire.

He said a four-man team including himself and inspector Balthazor began working in an area east of Fort Garland on a road identified by other authorities at the command center, following the rustic road, then a small path of a road to a dry creek bed, they studied burn patterns to determine a location near a burned camper.

His defense attorney refuted these claims and Lyman accepted his explanation. Joergensen then asked for a change of venue and a different judge, claiming he did nothing wrong and is being treated unfairly. 

On April 23, 2019, Joergensen was back in the courtroom for a status update on motions filed by both the defense and prosecution.

In his arrest affidavit, however, Joergensen changed his story on how the fire started multiple times, claiming it was an accident.

Topping the list was the story of how he cooked meat to eat and didn’t watch the burn pit in which the fire was started. Another explanation of burning trash was also questioned, since he admittedly didn’t ensure the fire was out before going into his RV camper home and falling asleep.

When he awakened, he called to report the fire, which had spread to some bushes next to his place and then tried to quell the flames with towels and a blanket, suffering facial burns and scorched clothing.

He drove to nearby Mountain Home Reservoir, where he was taken into custody.

Still confined in the Costilla County Jail, Joergensen spends his days writing about and declaring his innocence. A gag order bars jail staff from communication with him about anything other than his basic needs.

Since Joergensen is not a citizen of the United States, he will be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the arson case concludes, according to the Post. ICE has a detainer hold on him and will wait on action until the local charges are satisfied.

According to ICE, Joergensen is a deportable alien, “admitted to the United States subject to any grounds of removal specified in the Immigration and Nationality Act. This includes any alien illegally in the United States, regardless of whether the alien entered the country by fraud or misrepresentation or entered legally but subsequently violated the terms of his or her nonimmigrant classification or status.”