WESTCLIFFE, Colo. — Hanme Clark, 47, was sentenced last week to three consecutive life sentences plus an additional 48 years in prison for the November 2023 shooting that left three neighbors dead and critically injured a fourth.
Clark was convicted of murdering next-door neighbors Robert Geers, 62, his wife Beth Wade Geers, 38, and James and Patty Daulton, 58, in the rural community of Westcliffe. Patty Daulton was the sole survivor. Clark’s sentence also included 48 years for her attempted murder.
According to court documents, the attack occurred on Nov. 20, 2023, while a surveyor measured property lines between Clark’s uphill property and the Geers’ property on Rocky Ridge Road. Clark reportedly confronted Robert Geers about trespassing and then opened fire. Geers’ brother, Carl Geers, said Robert had been advised to record interactions with Clark due to a prior death threat.
A SWAT team responded to the shooting, and residents were ordered to shelter in place. Clark fled the scene and was apprehended the next day near Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his wife, who was later dismissed from the case.
The dispute stemmed from an ongoing property easement conflict and previous civil litigation filed by Clark and his wife against the former owners of the Geers property, which had been dismissed in 2023. The Clarks had acquired the Rocky Ridge Road property in 2019.
Clark previously trained in martial arts and fought in a 2007 MMA event in Denver, where he won by submission.
In the wake of the attack, Patty Daulton filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Clarks, and additional litigation involving former Custer County Deputy Jason Solbato, who responded to prior complaints, has been filed in 2026.
Carl Geers, reflecting on his brother’s death, urged future property owners in rural areas to pursue peaceful resolutions to disputes through mediation, stating, “They could’ve made arrangements. My brother was not unreasonable.”
