COLORADO: Former Grace-St. Stephen's rector accepts plea agreement stemming from 20 felony theft charges
Episcopal News Service. September 20, 2010 [092010-06]
Pat McCaughan
Donald Armstrong, a former Episcopal priest and former rector of Grace and St. Stephen's Church, has pleaded no contest to a felony theft charge and guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge involving the historic downtown Colorado Springs church, according to a Sept. 17 statement released by the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado.
Armstrong had been charged with 20 counts of felony theft, stemming from financial improprieties during his tenure at the $17 million church, an architectural and social icon in southern Colorado for more than a century.
Larry Hitt, chancellor of the Denver-based diocese, said he hoped Armstrong's agreement with Pueblo special prosecutor Stephen Jones would "contribute to a final resolution of these regrettable events."
"We believe that Armstrong's entry of a 'no contest' plea to a class 3 felony theft charge [deferred judgment and sentence] and his effective guilty plea to a class 1 misdemeanor theft charge constitute a tacit acknowledgment of the truth of the criminal charges against him," Hitt said in the statement.
The church had a reported 2,400 members when allegations of Armstrong's financial improprieties surfaced, sparking a lengthy investigation that led ultimately to the charges in both church and secular courts.
An ecclesiastical trial court judged Armstrong guilty in 2007 of stealing about $400,000 from church coffers. Colorado Bishop Robert O'Neill removed him as a priest of the church.
The day the diocesan Standing Committee was to formally charge Armstrong with theft and other wrongdoing, he and a group of followers announced they were leaving the diocese and the Episcopal Church.
They took possession of the church, igniting a two-year court battle that ended March 24, 2009 when an El Paso County judge ordered Armstrong's group to vacate the premises, ruling that church property and assets were held in trust for the mission and ministry of the diocese and wider church. The continuing Episcopal congregation returned to the church on Palm Sunday, April 6, 2009.
Eventually, the allegations led to a local police investigation. In 2008, local police raided Armstrong's office and seized church records. He was indicted by a grand jury on 20 counts of felony theft in 2009.
Armstrong could not be reached for comment Sept. 17 but a statement posted on the website of the breakaway congregation, later renamed St. George's Anglican Church, acknowledged the plea deal.
On Sept. 17 "our rector, the Rev. Donald Armstrong, accepted a plea agreement offered by the Pueblo District Attorney which precludes the pending trial and begins to bring to conclusion this long and torturous ordeal for our congregation and the larger Christian community," according to the statement.
"Specifically, Father Armstrong made an Alford plea, which is a special plea used when there is no admission of guilt or basis of fact for the charge, but the charge, in this case a misdemeanor, is accepted to take advantage of an offer, in this case to reduce the original 20 felony counts to a single misdemeanor," according to the website of the church, affiliated with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America or CANA.
In Colorado, felony charges are categorized in six different classes, with class 1 being the most serious charge carrying the harshest penalty. Class 3 felony convictions may carry a sentence of at least four to 12 years and/or fines ranging from $3,000 to $750,000. Misdemeanors are lesser charges and carry lesser sentencing recommendations.
Hitt said "Armstrong's theft constituted an abuse of trust and a betrayal by a priest of the church. His unlawful actions and efforts to divert the focus of the dispute away from his own behavior caused harm and suffering for the church, its clergy, its membership and the poor whom we are called to serve."
But, he added, "We pray for healing for all affected by his actions, including Armstrong and his family. We also hope that he will be sentenced to make full restitution of the money he took from the church."
The ecclesiastical trial court's five-member panel of clergy and laity on Sept. 26, 2007 had unanimously found Armstrong "guilty on all counts," including stealing about $400,000 in parish funds, issuing false W-2 forms and underreporting benefits by $548,097.27. Local media had reported that Armstrong used the funds to pay for his children's college education and other personal expenses.
Armstrong, who had cited theological differences with the diocese and the Episcopal Church, had refused to appear at his ecclesiastical trial. He had maintained his innocence and said that he was already an active CANA priest and was considering leaving the Episcopal Church when the investigation against him was launched.
O'Neill said the church's goal all along has been to bring healing to all those who have been harmed by Armstrong's actions.
"The recent actions taken by the court in the criminal proceedings against Don Armstrong bring closure to a very sad chapter in the life of this diocese," O'Neill said in the statement. "The Episcopal Church in Colorado has already moved ahead with energy and commitment to do the work that we are called to do by God. I continue to pray for the healing of Don Armstrong and his family."
Grace and St. Stephen's dates to 1872 and is known as the birthplace of numerous other local congregations, community service and cultural organizations, including the Red Cross of the Pikes Peak region; Associated Charities; the Community Chest (later United Fund); the Visiting Nurses Association and many other ecumenical social ministries.
The Episcopal Diocese of Colorado includes 115 congregations and diocesan institutions throughout the state.