A double murder in a small Colorado mountain town has resulted in a conviction, with a 69-year-old man sentenced to at least two life sentences.
Mark Burns was convicted of murdering Michael Arnold, 69, and Donna Gallegos, 65, both of Paonia, as well as two counts of aggravated robbery, burglary, menacing, and tampering with physical evidence.
The jury deliberated for eight hours on Thursday, June 12. On Monday, a judge sentenced Burns to two consecutive life sentences, plus additional years for the other crimes.
The case began on February 4, 2022, when Delta County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at 15835 Black Bridge Road near Paonia, about 220 miles southwest of Denver, in response to reports of two dead bodies. Arnold and Gallegos’ bodies were discovered with multiple gunshot wounds in the shop, which also served as a residence.
Burns lived in Idaho at the time. Less than two weeks after the murders, he was arrested and returned to the Delta County Detention Facility.
Burns began renting a home on Arnold’s property in 2018, and he stayed until September 2021, according to prosecutors during the trial. However, by the time Burns left for Idaho, allegedly because Arnold had evicted him, witnesses claimed he and Arnold had a “contentious relationship.”
According to court documents reviewed by the outlet, Burns had a romantic relationship with a woman with whom Arnold had previously had relations. Burns also funded the woman’s lawsuit against Arnold, claiming she and Arnold were in a common law marriage.
When Burns moved to Idaho in the fall of 2021, he “allegedly threatened Arnold, stating that he didn’t know who he was messing with,” according to court documents obtained by CBS News. However, the evidence used by prosecutors during the trial was home surveillance footage that showed someone shooting the victims several times.
The suspect was wearing a mask, but Burns insisted it wasn’t him in the video. According to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, prosecutors said the perpetrator had duct tape around their wrists to keep their sleeves in place and may have even worn a wig to disguise themselves.
In court, prosecutors reportedly suggested Burns’ motives were retaliation for being kicked off Arnold’s property, as well as greed, as Burns allegedly had much more money to spend in the days following the murders.
Delta County Sheriff Mark Taylor and Undersheriff Quinn Archibeque praised Burns’ conviction, calling it a “just verdict” that “will help bring closure to the friends and family of Mr. Arnold and Ms. Gallegos.”
