Man accused of killing 3 in simmering Colorado property dispute was recently accused of locking gate

KOAA

A man was on the run Tuesday after police say he fatally shot three people and critically wounded a fourth over a years-long property dispute over the use of an easement on the suspect’s property in rural Colorado, authorities said.

The shooting Monday afternoon happened on one of the victim’s property a week after an area landowner asked that the suspect be held in contempt of a June 2022 court order. It had that allowed them to cross the suspect’s property to access their land in the southern part of the state about 50 miles southwest of Colorado Springs.

The suspect had also been accused of locking a gate and posting sign near the gate that said “the owner of this property is armed,” said Kevin Flesch, an attorney for one of the defendants who lost his easement access.

It was unknown if the contempt of court motion was filed by the shooting victims because their names had not been released.

Easements are legal rights to cross someone else’s land, usually to access one’s own property, and are often vital in rural American communities like this one.

The 45-year-old suspect, Hanme K. Clark, was believed to be driving a 2017 white Ram 1500 pickup truck with a camper shell, said Custer County Sheriff Lloyd Rich Smith. He said at a midday news conference that they were narrowing in on the suspect and hoped he would surrender peacefully.

This photo provided by the Custer County, Colo., Sheriff’s Office shows Hanme K. Clark. Authorities in Colorado searched Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, for Clark, a man they believe shot and killed three people and critically wounded a fourth in a property dispute. (Custer County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

Smith said the property dispute — which included a lawsuit filed by the suspect in 2020 — had led sheriff’s deputies to the property several times in recent years. But there was no indication that it would lead to violence, Smith said.

The suspect was a part-owner of a business called Herbal Gardens Wellness, Smith said. The website said it is dedicated to promoting health and well-being through the use of herbal remedies.

The shooting took place on the property line in a wooded area Monday afternoon, sending deputies to Rocky Ridge Road, about 8 miles from the county seat of Westcliffe.

Two men and a woman died at the scene and a fourth person was taken to a trauma center in critical condition but was expected to survive, the sheriff’s office said. Their names were not immediately released.

One person witnessed the shooting and fled to safety, providing law enforcement with key information, Smith said.

Authorities searched the woods and area buildings for Clark after the shooting using night vision equipment, Smith said. They continued to look for him there even after learning that a truck believed to be Clark’s had been spotted about 58 miles away just to make sure he was no longer in the area of the shooting, he said.

However, authorities now believe Clark had already left the area before deputies responded to the shooting, Smith said.

Residents in a part of nearby Chaffee County were told to shelter in place after a surveillance camera spotted Clark’s truck at a Walmart in Salida, about 50 miles northwest of Westcliffe. It left and headed toward a residential area nearby. After a search overnight using drones, a Denver police helicopter and officers on the ground, the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday it believes Clark has likely left the area. The office lifted the shelter in place order.

A telephone message left for a lawyer who represented Clark in the lawsuit over access to property was not immediately returned.

The property dispute was over an easement allowing several people access to their property through property owned by Herbal Gardens Wellness, according to a lawsuit filed by Clark. The court had resolved the issue in June 2022 by allowing several area landowners access to their property through the suspect’s property, Flesch said.

It was one of several mass shootings that occurred in the past few days around the country.

Four people were wounded Monday night when a gunman opened fire in a Walmart in Beavercreek, Ohio, before apparently killing himself, police said.

On Sunday, a Tennessee man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound while on the run after a series of shootings that killed four of his female relatives.

Officers found the body of Mavis Christian Jr., 52, in his car during a search following shootings at three locations in Memphis that left three women and a teenage girl dead and a teenage girl critically wounded, the Memphis Police Department said.