Ballowe arson trial ends in hung jury
District Attorney may seek retrial
After more than a week of testimony and nearly two days in deliberations, the jury could not reach a verdict in the arson trial of Black Hawk resident Terrence Ballowe. Ballowe’s Chase Street business, “A Creekside Bed and Breakfast,” was heavily damaged by fire in January, 2009. Several months later, he was charged with First Degree and Third Degree Arson. First Degree Arson (knowingly setting fire to any building or occupied structure of another person without their consent) is a Class Three Felony that carries potential penalties of $3,000 to $750,000 in fines and 4-12 years incarceration; Third Degree Arson (damaging the property with the intent to defraud), is a Class Four Felony that carries potential penalties of a $2,000-$500,000 fine and 2-6 years incarceration.) Judge Jack Berryhill tried the case in the First Judicial Court located in the Jefferson County Justice Center in Golden.
It took nearly three years for the case to reach a jury. The call to Black Hawk Fire Department (BHFD) came in early on the afternoon of January 25, 2009 from a person who spotted the fire from property overlooking Chase Street. Firefighters responding from the Black Hawk Fire Station, just a few blocks from the Chase Street location, were on the scene quickly. They found the structure fully engulfed in flames but were able to knock the fire down in time to preserve evidence of its origins. The Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) had investigators on that scene the day following the fire. Their forensics experts reported what appeared to be residue of a fire accelerant substance and a liquid pour pattern that could still be seen on the floor of the kitchen and connecting to the central living room area. Ballowe’s own home security cameras recorded he had left the property just thirteen minutes before the 911 call reporting the fire was received. CBI investigators also determined Ballowe was having financial difficulties at the time: delinquent property tax payments, past-due mortgage payments, unpaid sanitation district bills, and previous foreclosure attempts on the bed and breakfast as well as his personal residence, also located on Chase Street. Ballowe’s home insurance agent told CBI investigators Ballowe had increased his insurance coverage from $500,000 to nearly $1 million in April 2008, and had requested confirmation of that coverage on January 1, 2009. He filed an insurance claim on the fire-damaged bed and breakfast on January 27th, indicating he would attempt to collect. There appeared to be means, motive and opportunity to support the arson charges, take the case to trial, present the evidence to a jury and let them decide. Ballowe’s defense attorney maintained that the fire had not been caused by arson but had originated some other way, possibly with an electrical problem. The jury heard testimony from professional electricians supporting the defense.
As neither the prosecuting or defense attorneys were able to convince the jury fully, the trial concluded with a “hung jury” and the District Attorney must now decide whether or not to pursue a retrial.
September 24, 1951 – October 13, 2011
At 2011 Great American Beer Festival in Denver