Man pleads guilty to setting post office on fire

A 71-year-old resident of Moffat pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to starting a fire which caused $12,000 damage to the town's post office last year.

According to the plea agreement document, investigators discovered Donald Albert Renner had been denied service at the post office three days before the incident. 

Also, Renner told investigators the fire was part of a suicide attempt. Prosecutors disputed that claim. They filed an indictment in February charging Renner with malicious damage of U.S. property. 

On that count, Renner faced a maximum prison term of 10 years if found guilty. Instead, he pleaded guilty to willfully injuring U.S. property. For that, prosecutors are recommending a sentence of no more than two years in prison.

The fire was set early in the morning of July 16, 2021, at the Moffat Post Office located at 17363 Highway 17. It was started outside the building, but damaged both its exterior and interior. 

Carpet samples taken from inside the building, plus another from a mat outside it, were found to contain gasoline, according to the plea agreement.

The fire closed the Moffat Post Office. USPS customers were forced to drive 13 miles away to Crestone for service. 

Renner is scheduled for sentencing in April 2023.

Moffat, in Saguache County, has a population of 13,185 residents, per the 2021 count by the U.S. Census Bureau.