(YODER, Colo.) — The arrest affidavits have been released for Courtney and Nicole Mallery – the two black ranchers accused of stalking by their neighbor, who has also been the subject of a restraining order by the Mallerys.
On Monday, Feb. 6, the Mallerys were arrested on charges of Stalking, Tampering with Water or Utility, and Theft. The Mallerys were accused by their neighbor, Teresa Clark, and newly released court documents state that Clark kept a ‘stalking log,’ as well as video footage to accompany her allegations of stalking behavior by the Mallerys.
The arrest affidavits show that Clark had been in contact with Sergeant E. R. Gerhart of the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office (EPSO) since March of 2022 in reference to the Mallerys. Clark’s property is adjacent to the Mallerys, and their properties are separated by an easement referred to as Truckton Road.
The arrest affidavit states that Clark provided Gerhart with videos and pictures from a ‘stalking log,’ showing what Gerhart believes to be criminal behavior by the Mallerys. One incident involved a window of Clark’s truck having been busted out, and Clark took video of tire tracks from the scene going to the Mallerys’ property.
Clark alleged to EPSO that she feared for her safety and the safety of her mother, who she cares for in her home. Clark claimed that the Mallerys had multiple cameras on their property pointing directly at her home, and provided the deputy with instances in her stalking log of the Mallerys on the easement between their properties.
Many of the incidents on the easement were simply one or both of the Mallerys driving by Clark’s property, seemingly around the time she either left in the morning or returned home at night.
Other incidents on the easement included an instance of Nicole Mallery stopping her car in front of Clark’s property, getting out, putting her hands in the air, and saying “hands up don’t shoot.”
The affidavit also details an incident of Nicole using a loud speaker and telling Clark to “pack for Heaven,” and a separate incident caught on Clark’s security footage in which Courtney is seen entering the easement from his property, where he places Clark’s trash can in his truck and drives away.
Sergeant Gerhart claimed he found the Mallerys behavior of intentionally putting themselves on the easement between their properties “highly unusual and outright disturbing,” given that the Mallerys had obtained temporary protection orders against Clark, and the primary access to the Mallerys’ property was from a different road.
The affidavit did not specify what had prompted the Mallerys to seek protection orders against Clark. However, the Mallerys told our sister station, FOX31 in Denver, that their ranch had been the target of racist attacks: people breaking their fences, running over their fence posts, burning their Black Lives Matter flags, spray painting racial slurs on their land, and even waving guns at them.
The arrest affidavit also cites the Mallerys’ previous internal affairs complaints against EPSO as a deciding factor in the filing of charges against them. According to the affidavit, the Mallerys have filed over 15 complaints against EPSO deputies, including Sergeant Gerhart, over the past two years. The affidavit states that all of the claims have been “unfounded” or “exonerated.”
FOX21 News has reached out to Teresa Clark multiple times, but she has declined to comment on the situation.
El Paso County Sheriff Joe Roybal has called for a meeting between all the people involved, and has asked that the Black Latino Leadership Coalition help coordinate.
