Black El Paso County rancher faces felony charge after his own complaints of racism, intimidation

Feb. 7—A Black rancher who alleges he and his wife have endured months of racially-motivated property crimes and intimidation in their rural Colorado community was arrested Monday by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.

Courtney Mallery, 41, now faces a felony charge of stalking the neighbors he has accused of carrying out a bias-based terror campaign on his property in Yoder, about 30 miles east of Colorado Springs.

In an uncommon move, after considering the charges for which Mallery was arrested — which also include misdemeanor tampering with a utility meter and petty theft of under $50 — El Paso District and County Magistrate Deborah Pearson set bond at $6,000, three times the amount requested by the people.

In statements made during a video advisement Tuesday, Pearson said she came to her decision after reviewing documents detailing a history of conflict, complaints and investigations by the Sheriff's Office, dating back to March 2022.

"The court is concerned about the risk to the victims and the community," said Pearson, referencing an easement between Mallery's property and that of the neighbors he is charged with stalking, where "cameras and a loud speaker ... (allegedly) were being used."

As part of the bond agreement, Mallery promised to abide by a previously-issued restraining order barring him from contacting or harassing his neighbors.

In his plea for Mallery's release on an unsupervised "personal recognizance" bond, public defender Joseph Blythe described the Texas transplant as a life-long farmer with a clean record, "strong connections" to the local community and a wife who also lives in the greater Colorado Springs area. Mallery's wife, Nicole, was arrested Nov. 22 on two charges of felony stalking. She posted bond in December and is due back in court this week, according to court documents.

News of Courtney Mallery's arrest quickly spread through social media, redoubling outrage and online campaigns that began last month when a New Jersey-based media outlet published a lengthy piece sharing the couple's side of a story that's brought unwanted national attention to the quiet ranching community, and its law enforcement.

"I would really hope that the El Paso County sheriff's department and several others in rural areas understand that we're taking this very seriously," Portia Prescott, president of the Rocky Mountain NAACP, told Gazette news partner 9News in Denver.

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During Tuesday's advisement hearing, Blythe described the long-running conflict that led to Courtney Mallery's arrest as more of a "neighborhood dispute ... than a criminal case."

What Courtney and Nicole Mallery described in the story published Jan. 16 by the Ark Republic, however, is anything but: a life-and-death struggle, of animal mutilations, poisonings and armed menacing, and local law enforcement that has been deaf to their complaints, and at times complicit in the crimes.

The Sheriff's Office pushed back against the couple's assertions and the groundswell of bad blood online in a statement Feb. 2, saying that it "vehemently denies" the allegations and "takes all allegations of crime and civil rights violations seriously." Officers, it said, responded and acted in an "appropriate" and "professional" manner at every juncture.

"Sheriff Joseph Roybal and the nearly 1,000 dedicated sworn and professional staff of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office remain committed to fostering safety for our community and our neighbors while ensuring Constitutional and civil rights are upheld regardless (of) race, color, national origin, or any other legally protected characteristic."

The statement went on to say that, over the past two years, the Sheriff's Office had investigated 19 different complaints and responded to more than 170 calls "filed by and/or involving" the Mallerys.

"Each of these complaints were individually and thoroughly investigated. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office has also responded to over 170 calls for service that involve the individuals identified in the article (accurate as of February 2, 2023)."

The Sheriff's Office says it has documents and records, including body-worn camera video, that support its side of the story. It hasn't yet released that cache of information to the public, and attempts by The Gazette to gain access to the material so far have been unsuccessful.

On Monday, El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal shared a letter, via Twitter, to Willie Breazell, of the Black & Latino Leadership Coalition and former head of the local NAACP chapter, requesting an intervention-style sit-down meeting where "all interested parties meet in an effort to address ongoing concerns." Roybal also proposed the meeting be attended by a panel created of a "diverse representation of the community."

"It is my hope this meeting is the beginning of efforts and understanding to ensure a safe community for all," Roybal wrote.

The Gazette was not able to confirm Tuesday night whether such a meeting is in the works.

Courtney Mallery is set to make his first court appearance Feb. 14.

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