Nov. 20--A man who enlisted a friend to help him burn down the Green Mountain Falls Town Hall in retaliation for a traffic ticket was sentenced Monday to 12 years in prison.
Fourth Judicial District Judge Robert L. Lowrey imposed the stiffest penalty available against 22-year-old Zacharia Garrison Shaffer, who said in court that he was responsible for devising the arson plot.
"I was the genesis. I'm the cause. If anybody put any thought into it, it was me," said Shaffer, who pleaded guilty Sept. 27 to first-degree arson. He had faced between eight and 12 years under a plea bargain.
Shaffer added: "I'm definitely ready to begin the rebuilding process for that community and myself, as you see fit."
A co-defendant, 23-year-old Kyle Lawrence, is awaiting a Jan. 7 trial.
He was among the friends and relatives who attended the sentencing.
The Feb. 23 fire destroyed the tiny, century-old building and led to a standoff in Colorado Springs a day later.
The men were arrested without incident and admitted to hospitals for severe burns. They had been trapped inside the burning town hall by an explosion.
According to text messages sent from his phone, Shaffer was angered by a summons to appear in Green Mountain Fall son a traffic matter, where he expected to face fines.
"That place is going down," Shaffer wrote to Lawrence, a childhood friend, in a text message. "Know anybody with a crow bar?"
In requesting the maximum sentence, lead prosecutor Reggie Short said Shaffer initially considered taking action against a government building in Manitou Springs, but decided there would be too many witnesses.
Short said the fire also jeopardized a woman and her grandmother who were asleep in a neighboring home. Another Green Mountain Falls resident woke the women up and escorted them to safety.
"This could have gone bad any one of a number of ways," Short said.
The blaze ignited shortly after the men were finished emptying 5-gallon tanks of gasoline, Shaffer later confessed. According to investigators, Shaffer said the men didn't strike a match. Instead, they heard a sound like a light switch being flipped before flames ripped through the building.
After escaping the inferno, the men hid out in a Colorado Springs home. They were arrested after an anonymous tip led authorities to their location. Lawrence, suffering second- and third-degree burns from the waist down, was unable to walk and struggled to maintain consciousness.
Defense attorney Norman Thom asked for leniency, noting that Shaffer made a full confession after his arrest and has accepted responsibility for his actions. Shaffer completed 150 hours of community service, raised $2,500 toward restitution and took an anger management class.
Friends described Shaffer as intelligent and caring and said he was "extremely remorseful" for his actions.
"One night we were up late and he looked at his hands and said he hoped his scars never healed because he never wanted to forget what he did, especially to his friend," said Marilyn Garcia.
Lowrey, sounding baffled by the crime and its explanation, said Shaffer had plenty of opportunities to reconsider his actions before destroying a historic building over a traffic matter.
Noting that he's read many psychological evaluations in his time on the bench, Lowrey said: "I couldn't put your situation to anything I've read."
He added: "I hope you come out to be the person all these folks think you are."
Copyright 2012 - The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
