Colorado Arson Defense Lawyers
In Colorado, arson is generally defined as using fire or explosives in a manner that damages or endangers persons or property. The complexity of fire science requires nationally renowned experts who are more qualified than law enforcement and insurance investigators to determine fire origin and cause. It is well known that junk fire science has even resulted in the state executing innocent criminal defendants. Often times insurance companies may be motivated to encourage false criminal charges against individuals for their own financial gain.
The attorneys at Rathod | Mohamedbhai LLC have the experience and expertise necessary to navigate this nuanced area of the law and aggressively defend your rights at every step. We have successfully defending complex and multimillion dollar arson property damage cases. Not only do we have working relationships with the most renowned national experts in fire science, but we have undergone particularized fire science training.
There are four different degrees of arson ranging from a class 3 misdemeanor to a class 3 felony.
First Degree Arson, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-4-102
A person commits first degree arson if he or she knowingly sets fire to, burns, causes to be burned, or by the use of any explosive damages or destroys, or causes to be damaged or destroyed, any building or occupied structure of another without his consent. The key difference between first degree arson and the other degrees of arson is that in order to be convicted, a person must have damaged another’s building or occupied structure.
First degree arson is a class 3 felony that carries a minimum sentence of four years. However, if a person commits first degree arson by using an explosive, or if a person causes serious bodily injury or death to another as a result of committing first degree arson, he or she commits a crime of violence that presents an extraordinary risk of harm to society, and is subject to a minimum sentence of ten years and a maximum sentence of up to thirty-two years of imprisonment.
Second Degree Arson, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-4-103
A person commits second degree arson if he or she knowingly sets fire to, burns, causes to be burned, or by the use of any explosive damages or destroys, or causes to be damaged or destroyed, any property of another without his consent, other than a building or occupied structure.
Second degree arson is a class 4 felony if the damage to another’s property is $100 or more. Second degree arson as a class 4 felony carries a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum sentence of six years of imprisonment.
If the property damage is less than $100, second degree arson is a class 2 misdemeanor that carries a minimum punishment of a $250 fine, or three months of imprisonment, or both. Its maximum punishment is a $1000 fine, twelve months of imprisonment, or both.
Third Degree Arson, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-4-104
A person commits third degree arson if he or she, by means of fire or explosives, intentionally damages any property with intent to defraud. The most common commissions of third degree arson involve individuals who burn their own property in order to fraudulently collect insurance money.
Third degree arson is a class 4 felony that carries a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum sentence of six years of imprisonment.
Fourth Degree Arson, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-4-105
A person commits fourth degree arson if he or she knowingly or recklessly starts or maintains a fire or causes an explosion, on his own property or that of another, and by so doing places another in danger of death or serious bodily injury or places any building or occupied structure of another in danger of damage. A conviction of fourth degree arson does not require proof that another’s person or property was actually damaged, nor does it require the intent to damage another’s person or property, nor does it require knowledge that starting or maintaining a fire puts another’s person or property at risk of damage. It simply requires a person to start or maintain a fire that is in fact dangerous to another’s person or property.
If a person is endangered by the commission of fourth degree arson, then it is a class 4 felony that carries a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum sentence of six years of imprisonment.
If only property is endangered, and that property is worth $100 or more, fourth degree arson is a class 2 misdemeanor that carries a minimum punishment of a $250 fine, or three months of imprisonment, or both. Its maximum punishment is a $1000 fine, twelve months of imprisonment, or both.
If only property is endangered, and that property is worth less than $100, fourth degree arson is a class 3 misdemeanor that carries a minimum punishment of a $50 fine. Its maximum punishment is six months of imprisonment, a $750 fine, or both.