Delta Sheriff’s Office makes arrest for double murder in Paonia

PAONIA, Colo. (KJCT) - UPDATE: (Feb. 17 at 4:20): The Delta County Sheriff’s Office investigators, alongside other agencies, have arrested Mark Burns, age 65, for the double homicide case in Paonia.

According to the press release, the agencies involved executed a search warrant at Mark Burns residence in Salmon, Idaho.

Burns was arrested and charged for the murder of 69-year-old Michael Arnold and 65-year-old Donna Gallegos, who were found dead in their Paonia home, on Feb. 2, 2022.

The press release states that the investigation revealed the man and woman had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

Burns waived extradition from Idaho and has been booked into the Delta County Jail on Feb. 17, 2022, and is presumed innocent until proven guilty, according to the press release.

INITIAL ARTICLE: Police are investigating a double murder that happened in Paonia on Friday.

According to a press release from the Delta County Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement were called to a house on Black Bridge Road outside of Paonia at about 11:40 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 4. They found a man and a woman dead inside the house. The man and the woman both had gunshot wounds, and their deaths are being investigated as homicides, according to the sheriff’s office.

The coroner’s office identified the victims as Michael Arnold, age 69, and Donna Gallegos, age 65, according to the press release. They were both residents at the house on Black Bridge Road where they were found.

Law enforcement say they do not believe the public is in danger. Anyone with information about the murders is asked to call Delta County Crime Stoppers at 970-874-8810.

The Delta Sheriff’s Office called the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to help with the case, according to the press release.