CORTEZ – A verdict is expected this week in the trial of a Mancos woman and her daughter, who have been accused of illegally excavating land belonging to the Dolores County Fire Protection District in Dove Creek.
Mancos resident Julie Ott faces a Class 4 felony count of criminal mischief for causing damage between $20,000 and $100,000. Ott and her daughter, Angela Ott, both face a separate count of conspiracy to commit criminal mischief, a Class 5 felony.
Charging documents from the District Attorney’s Office for the 22nd Judicial District allege that Julie Ott knowingly damaged the real property of the fire department. On the conspiracy charge, the DA alleges that the two acted with intent when they unlawfully and feloniously agreed to aid each other in the planning or commission of the crime of conspiracy to commit criminal mischief.
They allegedly encroached on about 6 feet of Dove Creek Volunteer Fire Department land when they excavated an adjacent commercial property.
The case dates back to May 2017, when La Watha LLC, a bakery company at 101 U.S. Highway 491, excavated its property. The criminal charges originated in Dolores County but in December 2018 the venue changed to Montezuma County.
A four-day jury trial that started Monday morning continued Wednesday, when Angela Ott, registered agent for La Watha LLC, was called to the witness stand.
Upon direct examination from Julie Ott, Angela Ott testified that a week after the excavation was complete, the fire department placed a pin on the excavated area and claimed it was in the fire department’s property.
On May 15, Angela Ott said, she wrote a letter to all members of the fire district stating La Watha disputed the district’s land survey and had concerns with the location of the pin.
She testified that she wanted to resolve the issue civilly and was surprised when she received a letter from Cortez lawyer Kelly McCabe that asked La Watha to deed the lots to the fire district or write a cashier’s check for $55,000.
“This letter shocked me,” Angela Ott said. “It shocked me deeply.”
Angela Ott also testified that charges were filed against herself and her mother in February 2018, which shocked her further.
Deputy District Attorney Jeremy Reed then cross-examined Angela Ott. Through his questioning, he claimed that Ott failed to measure the boundary line properly and used the assessor’s map, which contains a disclaimer against using the information for legal purposes.
Ott testified that this was the first time she has purchased property.
To calculate the property line, she testified that she used the assessor’s map, her taxes and a third property document that states the information displayed is for “first land” or “improvement purposes only.”
Reed asked Ott to read off the disclaimer that appears on the landing page of the Dolores County online map viewer. The disclaimer states the assessor’s maps and data are for “assessment and reference purposes only.”
“These maps SHOULD NOT BE USED (emphasis in original) as a legal description for any legal conveyance or transaction,” the disclaimer states.
Ott testified that her measurements were correct and that she did not want to “fork out” $2,000 for a property boundary survey when the county assessor told her the maps were accurate.
The trial was scheduled to conclude this afternoon.
sdolan@the-journal.com
