Baruch Bachofer dodged nearly all 44 of the original charges against him. However, he was convicted April 10 of lesser charges in every instance except one, putting a complicated cap on one of Jefferson County’s longest jury trials.
Bachofer, 32, was on trail for a September 2001 incident that involved him taking his 15-year-old girlfriend hostage after Arvada police tried to serve him with a warrant for his arrest. Bachofer kept police at bay for 12 hours and shot at officers during the tense standoff that ensued.
For firing at police officers, the jury found Bachofer not guilty of 18 counts of a variation of attempted murder called extreme indifference. However, he was found guilty of 17 counts of reckless endangerment.
“We’re disappointed with the outcome,” said Pam Russell, spokesperson for the 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office, in a press release. “While we objected to several jury instructions the court gave to the jury, both before and during deliberations, on the grounds that the instructions did not accurately state the law, we believe the jurors followed the instructions as given to them and were diligent and professional in reaching their verdict.”
The standoff with Bachofer, a Fort Lupton man, began Sept. 17, 2001, when Arvada police and SWAT officers from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office attempted to serve Bachofer with an arrest warrant for attempted murder out of Weld County.
Police served the warrant at Bachofer’s motor home, which was parked in the 5300 block of Balsam Street.
Bachofer refused to accept the warrant and barricaded himself in the motor home with the 15-year-old, initiating the standoff. The girl, a runaway from Thornton, was believed to be Bachofer’s lover, according to testimony at a Nov. 13, 2001, preliminary hearing.
During the standoff, Bachofer allegedly fired on police, which was the basis for the charge of extreme indifference. The standoff ended peacefully after successful negotiations.
In addition to the 18 counts of attempted murder and the subsequent jury findings, below are Bachofer’s other charges and findings.
• On one count of first-degree kidnapping, Bachofer was found not guilty. Instead he was found guilty of false imprisonment.
• Bachofer was found not guilty of five counts of attempted murder after deliberation. He was found guilty of five counts of felony menacing.
• Bachofer was charged with 18 counts of violent crime, a sentence enhancer. These counts are void considering the jury’s findings.
• Bachofer was found not guilty of one count of sexual assault on a person with 10 years age difference.
• Bachofer was found guilty of one count failure to leave premises with hostage, the only charge the jury accepted from prosecution.
Bachofer’s trial lasted more than four weeks, qualifying it as one of the lengthiest Jefferson County trials in recent history.
Bachofer will be sentenced at 8:30 a.m., May 23, in Division 1.