A 69-year-old man was found guilty in a case involving two murders in a small mountain town in Colorado, and he was given at least two life sentences for the crimes.
Mark Burns was convicted on two counts of aggravated robbery, burglary, menacing, and tampering with physical evidence in addition to killing Michael Arnold, 69, and Donna Gallegos, 65, of Paonia.
On Thursday, June 12, the jury deliberated for eight hours. Burns was given the two consecutive life sentences and additional years for the other offenses by a judge on Monday.
The investigation started on February 4, 2022, when deputies from the Delta County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of two dead bodies at 15835 Black Bridge Road near Paonia, which is about 220 miles southwest of Denver.
The house served as a shop and a residence, and in the former, Arnold and Gallegos’ bodies were discovered with numerous gunshot wounds.
At the time, Burns had been residing in Idaho. He was taken into custody there less than two weeks after the killings and returned to be imprisoned at the Delta County Detention Facility.
According to prosecutors at the trial, Burns rented a house on Arnold’s land starting in 2018 and remained there until September 2021, according to CBS News.
However, witnesses claimed that Burns and Arnold had a “contentious relationship” by the time Burns left for Idaho, allegedly due to Arnold evicting him.
According to court documents examined by the outlet, Burns had a romantic relationship with a woman with whom Arnold had previously had a relationship.
The documents also revealed that Burns had provided funding for a lawsuit brought by the woman against Arnold, alleging that she and Arnold were in a common law marriage.
Burns “allegedly threatened Arnold, stating he didn’t know who he was messing with,” according to court documents obtained by CBS News after he relocated to Idaho in the fall of 2021.
During the trial, however, prosecutors relied on home surveillance footage that showed the victims were shot several times.
Burns insisted the video did not show the suspect, despite the fact that he was wearing a mask. According to the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, prosecutors claimed the offender may have worn a wig to change their appearance and had duct tape wrapped around their wrists to secure their sleeves.
Prosecutors allegedly stated in court that Burns’ motivations were greed, as he allegedly had a lot more money to spend in the days following the murders, and retaliation for being evicted from Arnold’s property.
In response to Burns’ conviction, Delta County Sheriff Mark Taylor and Undersheriff Quinn Archibeque described it as a “just verdict” and expressed the hope that it “will help bring closure to the friends and family of Mr. Arnold and Ms. Gallegos.”
