The suspect in Custer County, Colorado, was arrested by New Mexico State Police after a 25-hour manhunt, authorities said Tuesday afternoon.
Three people were killed and another seriously injured Monday afternoon in a shooting near the town of Westcliffe over a property dispute.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith said Clark was apprehended shortly after 2:45 p.m. He was taken into custody without incident, and no one was injured during the arrest, Smith said.
Clark’s girlfriend was with him in Clark’s truck on Tuesday. They were stopped in New Mexico by a task force of state and federal law enforcement officials.
Custer County Sheriff’s Office
At 2:30 p.m. Monday, Custer County Law Enforcement issued a shelter-in-place order for the area of Rocky Ridge Road in the northern part of Custer County, northeast of Westcliffe. Then it is thrown away.
“It’s a quiet, peaceful town and nothing like this has ever happened,” Custer County Sheriff Rich Smith said.
The suspect was identified by law enforcement as 45-year-old Hanme Clark. He is believed to be driving a white Dodge truck, license plate BHLK27. The suspect and at least one of the victims are known to have been in a previous civil dispute over property lines and easements.
Law enforcement officials identified the victims as Rob Gears, 63, Beth Wade, 73, and James Dalton. Patty Dalton is recovering from gunshot wounds, Smith said.
Custer County Sheriff’s Office
Gears was Clark’s neighbor, Smith said. Other details of the property dispute law enforcement officials indicated were not immediately available.
“We’ve had calls from the suspect complaining about neighbors, but never thought it would have ended up in a place like this,” Smith said.
Custer County is about 150 miles south of Denver.
Authorities say they found Clark’s truck pulled into the parking lot of a Walmart in Salida and the person in the truck went inside and bought several items. They then left the store and the truck drove to the Methodist Hills residential area.
“The people who live on the left don’t let people go down that road,” neighbor Harley Gordon said.
Clarke also appears as an accomplished mixed martial arts fighter in Colorado. A post from Pancrase MMA in Denver lists one of their fighters as Hanmay Clark, who goes by the nickname “The Ruiner”. Pancrase lists him as 6’3″ and 185 pounds with a purple belt in mixed martial arts, a black belt in taekwondo, and fighting experience in the Japanese sword-fighting style of kendo. He holds several titles through Pancrase.
“Former Pancrase student and Colorado MMA fighter wanted for shooting 4,” the organization lists in a message on its website, linking to a Daily Mail story about Clark being wanted by police.
Court records show a person with the same name as Clerk is the plaintiff in a property dispute in Custer County civil court. That case dates back to 2020 and is still open.
None of the victims in Monday’s shooting were named in the lawsuit, and it was not immediately clear how they were connected.
