New details about property dispute that turned deadly in Southern Colorado

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - 11News is learning more details about the property dispute that turned deadly in Southern Colorado. On Monday, Custer County Sheriff’s office responded to a shooting near Westcliffe. Three people were killed and one was critically injured. The person deputies say is responsible, Hanme Clark, was arrested in New Mexico on Tuesday.

Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith told 11News crews it all started as a property dispute. 11News obtained a civil lawsuit filed before the shooting that ties to Clark. It shows that the property dispute is not new and does not just involve the victims of the shooting.

“That’s been going on for years. Before the guy did the shooting I guess, before he was ever there. It’s been an ongoing property problem. There was a right away roadway or something,” said Russel Fox, a resident in Westcliffe.

People who live in and near Westcliffe said they know that land has a past.

“These types of easement issues in these rocky hilly areas are frequent. You often get neighbors very upset. There are a lot of lawsuits,” said Jordan Hedburg, a local journalist.

Court documents showed that Hanme Clark and Nancy Rae Medina, Clark’s alleged girlfriend, filed a lawsuit against three people and a trust related to an easement near their land back in 2020. Clark and Medina’s associated non-profit, Herbal Gardens Wellness, was the plaintiff in that case.

“He had sued some of the neighbors to block them from using the road that he felt went over his land. They countered sued back. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t say anybody won or lost but the neighbors got to keep using the road,” said Hedburg.

According to lawsuit, Herbal Gardens Wellness placed a gate on their property to prevent neighbors from entering. It also shows claims that one neighbor on the suit was threatening Medina and Clark. It also alludes to a previous lawsuit in 2016.

“It has all been civil and he has a civil lawyer and they’ve gone through the court process. The neighbors have lawyers and they’ve gone to the court process. This is totally unexpected,” said Sheriff Smith.

Clark’s arrest papers state Robert Geers, one of the people killed, reported that Clark was allegedly trespassing on his land with a rifle and face covering just days before.

Also just 24 hours before the shooting, a social media post by Herbal Gardens Wellness said, “Have you ever found yourself living next to a neighbor who seems to think the world revolves around them? You might be dealing with a narcissistic neighbor.”

Those arrest papers say that when the shooting happened the victims, the Geers and Daultons, were with a surveyor. The surveyor ran to a nearby home when the shooting started.