Inside the Montrose Homeless Camp Case: Judge Issues Guilty Verdict Against Local Church

Homelessness is a problem that affects many individuals and, unfortunately, families in Colorado, and a recent court case has found a church in Montrose guilty of numerous infractions stemming from a homeless camp that was allowed on the property.

A Homeless Camp on Church Property in Montrose, Colorado

The Montrose United Methodist Church, located at 19 South Park Avenue, has been a fixture of the Western Colorado town since 1920.

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However, in recent years, the church’s property has been inhabited by a number of homeless members of the community, which has caused controversy.

The church, which allowed the homeless individuals to camp on the property, was subsequently cited for a number of infractions, including storage of litter, but the case focused more on instances of homeless individuals overdosing on drugs on the property, one of which resulted in a fatality.

Montrose, Colorado Church Goes to Court

The majority of the citations related to the homeless camp were levied against the church in the winter of 2025, and while the city attempted to move the case from municipal court to district court, that particular motion was denied.

On Wednesday, November 5, 2025, Montrose Municipal Judge Thomas LeClaire sided with the city of Montrose, stating the following:

The evidence, two drug overdoses within the Church quad during the operation of the encampment and a drug overdose death of a person located on the Church’s property, but not inside the encampment, were not crimes or wrongs perpetrated by the Defendant First United Methodist Church nor were they pertinent to the Defendant’s character.

The judge went on to call these events “tragic” and noted that they did not affect the final decision regarding the citations against the church.

Despite not blaming the church for the overdoses that occurred last February, LeClaire cited testimony from law enforcement that pointed out health code violations, fire lane violations, and litter as the reasoning for finding the church guilty of four out of five charges.

The church’s punishment will be decided in a subsequent sentencing hearing that is yet to be scheduled.

Check out the full story from Colorado Public Radio here.