BOULDER — A man accused of going on a vandalism rampage at two of his former employer’s properties in Boulder County last year was sentenced Wednesday to spend six years in a halfway house, and pay back nearly $168,000 for the damage he caused.
Craig Gilmer, 54, previously accepted a plea bargain in which prosecutors agreed to dismiss four felony charges in exchange for what’s essentially the equivalent of a guilty plea on two class-three felony counts of criminal mischief over $20,000.
During the emotional sentencing hearing, Gilmer apologized for taking a chainsaw to the Nederland and Boulder homes of his former boss, Jerold Suffian, 72, and destroying them from the inside out.
Detectives say Gilmer flooded the houses and used a hammer and chainsaw to cut down trees, rip up a hot tub and destroy a deck. He also smashed granite countertops and cabinetry with a piece of concrete and dumped Suffian’s $700 flatscreen television into the kitchen sink, turned on the faucet and unhooked plumbing.
“It was a terrible mistake; it’s very stupid,” said a tearful Gilmer.
Read more about Gilmer and what happened in court today at .
