A Ouray County jury convicted a Ridgway man accused of following and harassing his former boss this week.

More than 10 hours of court proceedings Monday ended with David Gottorff being found guilty of harassment and sentenced to 12 months supervised probation, as well as 24 hours of community service.

He was acquitted of another charge – physical harassment – by the six-person jury, which heard arguments from attorneys, a video recording of an incident at Colorado Boy Pub and Brewery in Ridgway and the 911 call related to the incident, and testimony from four individuals including Gottorff himself and Ridgway Marshal Shane Schmalz.

The incident happened in October 2019, when Gottorff and his former employer, Andy Michelich, encountered each other at Colorado Boy. The two had conflicted over the end of Gottorff’s employment at Western Slope Rides. At the time, Michelich had already reported to deputies that Gottorff had continued to call him on the phone and text him repeatedly, and he no longer wanted contact. That day at the brewpub, Michelich said Gottorff called him a “Hispanic Nazi” and came up to him and pushed him, and made other negative comments before continuing to follow him outside when an employee broke up their fight. During the conflict inside the restaurant, Michelich recorded Gottorff on his cellphone and can be heard saying, “Don’t touch me. Don’t f***ing touch me,” multiple times.

Gottorff’s attorney, Nicholas Kreider, argued “bad blood” between the two men was to blame for the altercation at the brewpub, in which Michelich ended up calling 911 to report Gottorff was harassing him.

Kreider painted a picture of Michelich as the instigator, confronting Gottorff and “almost daring (him) to make the first move” when they ran into each other.

Kreider urged the jury to acquit Gottorff, and argued what happened at Colorado Boy “should stay dead and buried there.”

Deputy District Attorney Chelsea Burtis argued Gottorff baited Michelich by repeatedly going near him, making eye contact and verbally goading him to annoy and alarm him.

Michelich’s wife, Kerstin, described going outside the restaurant to get away from Gottorff, who also came outside. She said she asked him to go somewhere else and leave them alone but that didn’t happen.

“He said, ‘I can do whatever the f*** I want,’ ” she testified.

Michelich said she was upset and started crying as her husband called 911. “This was just another incident in a series of very uncomfortable incidents,” she said. At one point, she said Gottorff yelled at her that they were harassing him and he was going to sue them.

After the jury delivered the guilty verdict, Burtis asked Judge Kurt Beckenhauer to hold Gottorff accountable and consider other situations he’s been involved in here in Ouray County.

Gottorff has three other trials pending – resulting from alleged protection order violations and an alleged contempt case. These all relate back to the incident at Colorado Boy. Burtis referenced those to the court.

“This was the beginning of it all,” she said.

Gottorff was banned from Colorado Boy and since embarked on a campaign to convince others not to patronize the business. In March, Beckenhauer found Gottorff in contempt of court for continuing to retaliate against the business and ordered him to pay a $2,500 fine. The judge ruled he was in “willful contempt” of court by continuing to troll Colorado Boy online and place stickers featuring Colorado Boy’s altered logo around the region.

Burtis asked Beckenhauer to impose anger management and mental-health treatment, “so he learns to recognize the effects of his behavior and the effects they’re having on the town and his choices and why he’s doing these behaviors.”

She also asked the judge to impose a suspended jail sentence. “I have concerns that he will not take probation seriously if he doesn’t have something hanging over his head,” she said.

Kreider asked the judge to impose a $50 fine and “let bygones be bygones.” He also described Gottorff as “always very positive,” “kind of lighthearted,” and said the trial “weighed on him pretty traumatically.”

Gottorff also addressed the court prior to sentencing.

“I do not believe that the verdict rendered by the jury was reasonable or logical,” he said, adding that he would not apologize. He accused Michelich of a campaign to harass and defame him. He also accused Michelich of making him out to be a “pariah” in the community and sending people to his home with death threats.

Gottorff also told the court he objects to the newspaper coverage he has received, calling out a reporter in the courtroom for publicizing his protection orders and court rulings against him.

“Almost everything I do is selfless and it pains me to be cast and portrayed the way the paper does, the way Mr. Michelich does,” he said.

“I don’t doubt that you have felt stress, but today you’re not the victim,” the judge replied. “I do think you have an anger problem and for whatever reason you can’t let things go. I don’t know why,” he said.

He ordered Gottorff to complete one year of supervised probation.

“By being on supervised probation there will be resources to assist you and there will be accountability,” Beckenhauer said.

Beckenhauer did not impose any mandatory therapy for Gottorff, but instead said the probation department could require this at its discretion.

The judge also ordered Gottorff to pay $50 per month for his supervision.

Beckenhauer also advised Gottorff if he violates any of the protection orders currently against him, he would be violating probation and could have a jail sentence imposed.

The maximum sentence for third-degree misdemeanor harassment is six months in jail.

Beckenhauer advised Gottorff to make good choices.

“I think you’re intelligent, I think you’re articulate, I think you’re capable. I think you can be successful,” he said.

“But you need to make those decisions and hopefully through this support and accountability you will make those.”