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A court administrator told lawmakers on Friday a fire in the building caused sprinklers to run for hours, leading to substantial water damage on multiple floors.
DENVER — Ten days after a man was accused of breaking into the Colorado Supreme Court building, firing gunshots and setting a fire within, lawmakers received a stunning presentation about how much it may cost to repair the damage.
Costs could exceed $35 million to fix the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center after the Jan. 2 incident, according to officials with the state’s judicial branch.
According to Court Administrator Steven Vasconcellos who gave a presentation to the Joint Judiciary Committee on Friday, a lot of the damage is due to water from the sprinkler system.
>Video above from Jan. 2: Man in custody after barricade inside Colorado Supreme Court building.
The sprinklers turned on after the suspect started a fire on the seventh floor, according to Denver Police. The sprinklers ran for more than two hours, according to Vasconcellos.
“Some levels of damage occurred from the basement to the 7th floor, with the 5th, 6th and 7th floors having to be substantially rebuilt from scratch, all of which will take time and resources,” a press release from the state’s judiciary said.
The suspect arrested for breaking into the building has been identified as Brandon Olson, 44, who is facing multiple charges including robbery, burglary and arson.
Olson is accused of getting into a crash outside the courthouse early on Jan. 2, breaking into the building, and then holding a security officer at gunpoint.
There is so much water damage, the courthouse is still drying out and it’s unknown if any damage may impact cases at this point, according to Vasconcellos.
If you have any information about this story or would like to send a news tip, you can contact jeremy@9news.com.
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