COSTILLA COUNTY – A judge in Costilla County has ruled prosecutors can pursue the arson case against Jesper Joergensen, the man accused of starting the Spring Fire that burned 108,045 acres this summer.
Joergensen was charged with 141 counts of arson in connection to the wildfire in Costilla and Huerfano Counties that started in late June.
His case is now headed to District Court with his next hearing set for October 4th.
Costilla County deputies say he told them different stories about how the fire started. He first told Deputies he was burning trash and he later told them he was cooking meat in a fire pit and thought he had doused the fire.
Joergensen was arrested on the same day the fire started. Local authorities, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement all took part in the investigation.
Following his arrest, an immigration detainer was placed with the Costilla County Jail on Joergensen. According to a statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Joergensen is an illegal immigrant from Denmark.
Aliens who are criminally convicted and sentenced are pursued by ICE officers to be removed from the United States after they have completed their prison sentences, ICE said in a statement.
Courtesy: Tomi Price
