A Ridgway business owner upset at the Ouray County Plaindealer tried to prevent others from reading it when he stole nearly 200 copies of the newspaper from racks in Ridgway and Ouray in January.

Instead, his decision provoked international media attention that resulted in hundreds of thousands — perhaps millions — of people learning about an alleged sexual assault in the home of the Ouray police chief.

The frenzy centered around a story across the top of the front page of the Jan. 18 edition of the Plaindealer detailing a 17-yearold girl’s claims that she was assaulted by three teenagers while Police Chief Jeff Wood and his family slept upstairs. One of the suspects was Wood’s stepson.

Paul Choate, the owner of Kate’s Place restaurant, learned about the story the night before it published. Early on the morning of Jan. 18, he drove around to a dozen newspaper racks in Ridgway and Ouray, deposited four quarters in each one and took every copy out of each rack, he admitted to law enforcement.

Plaindealer owners and publishers Mike Wiggins and Erin McIntyre learned about the theft within hours, and security cameras in several locations captured Choate stealing the newspapers.

He returned the stolen newspapers by late that same afternoon, apologized and offered to pay for them. But that was after the Plaindealer had already ordered another 250 copies to be printed and redistributed.

Word of the theft spread quickly. In the ensuing days, the story appeared in newspapers and news websites and on radio programs and TV newscasts across the state. The Associated Press, USA Today, the New York Times and the Washington Post, among others, published stories. News media outlets as far away as Great Britain and the southeast Asian island of Borneo picked up the story. The story has more than 109,000 views on the Plaindealer’s website.

Choate was issued a summons on suspicion of petty theft. The Seventh Judicial District Attorney’s Office later amended the charge to interference with lawful distribution of newspapers, a civil infraction that carried a potential fine of up to $2,500 based on the value of the stolen newspapers.

During a Feb. 15 court hearing, Choate told Ouray County Judge Lane Thomasson he was “absolutely horrified” by the story and claimed it was “humiliating and embarrassing” to the teenage girl who reported the alleged sexual assault.

But that explanation differed from what Choate told the Plaindealer in multiple phone calls the day he stole the newspapers. He initially claimed the Plaindealer was trying to profit off the assault allegations. He said he was upset the story was placed above other news coverage. He also criticized other, unrelated stories in the Plaindealer that dated back several years, including coverage of former Sheriff Lance FitzGerald, which he said was unfair. And he claimed stealing the papers was “my way of boycotting” the Plaindealer.

Thomasson acknowledged the case was “emotionally charged,” and that she could identify with Choate’s claim that his decision to steal the papers was driven by emotion. But she said his actions had harmed the community and created “difficulty” for the Plaindealer.

McIntyre told the judge that while Choate may have been upset with the story, “I don’t believe that excuses infringing upon the First Amendment.”

“We have a responsibility and a right to distribute the information we did, regardless of whether Mr. Choate liked it or not,” McIntyre said.

In the end, Choate pleaded guilty to a civil offense and was fined $150 — less than the value of the newspapers he stole. The Plaindealer was unable to receive restitution from the court for the crime, due to the fact that the district attorney’s office reduced the charge and opted to allow Choate to plead guilty to the civil offense rather than the criminal charge.

The Plaindealer’s publishers were honored in September with the Jean Otto Friend of Freedom award from the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, which specifically cited their response to the newspaper theft as well as other fights for transparency and the public’s right to access information.