DENVER — The man who pleaded guilty in July to breaking into the Colorado Supreme Court building in early 2024, causing major damage to its interior, has made significant steps toward sobriety but his actions still have consequences, a judge acknowledged at Friday's sentencing hearing.
Brandon Olsen, 46, was sentenced on Friday afternoon to eight years in the Department of Corrections, which is the minimum amount for the arson charge he pleaded guilty to this summer. The judge also ordered that he pay restitution, however that exact amount is still being determined.
“But this sentence does not define you as a person," the judge said. "It is part of your history... It will close some doors and perhaps it will open others, but it's not the full story of who you are and who you will become."
Olsen addressed the court before the judge sentenced him. He thanked those who have supported his path to recovery. Many of them were from Mountain West sober living, where he now resides and works.
“This should not have happened," Olsen said. "I wish I had found this version of myself and found the sober community a long time ago... I was trying to mitigate my pain, but that's not an excuse... You can't just be sorry, right? There has to be action. Thank God I met people at Mountain West."
On the evening of Jan. 1, 2024, Olsen drove from Arizona to Colorado after taking fentanyl and smoking methamphetamine, the prosecutors said during the sentencing. He was having hallucinations and believed he was being chased.
At some point, he sought medical help at a Denver-area hospital, but the sights and sounds inside intensified his paranoia and he fled from the facility, the defense said.
“What followed was a frantic attempt to escape terrifying hallucinations," the defense added.
Around 1 a.m. on Jan. 2, he crashed into another car at 13th Avenue and Lincoln Street in Denver. Nobody was injured. A person called 911 to report the crash and said they had seen a man get out of the other car, grab a pistol from his backseat and run away from the scene.
Crime
Armed man breaks into Colorado Supreme Court building Tuesday, police say
Olsen then shot through one of the first-floor windows of the Colorado Supreme Court building and began moving through the corridors. He encountered an unarmed security guard, who was able to run away and call 911. The guard would later say he believed it was a "near-death experience," a prosecutor said.
With keys taken from the security guard, Olsen made his way to the seventh floor, where he set three fires to "illuminate the spirits," the defense said. While he did this, he continued shooting, due to his hallucinations, the prosecutor said. He shot out multiple windows and first responders believed he was trying to kill them.
Smoke was distributed throughout the entire building via the HVAC system. The building's sprinkler system put out the fire, however it ran for two hours, leaving ankle-deep water on one floor and damaging the floors below, all the way to the basement.
Olsen surrendered to police at 3 a.m.
Nobody was injured, but police said the damage to the building was "significant and extensive." In the days afterward, the Colorado Judicial Department reported that the fifth, sixth and seventh floor needed "to be substantially rebuilt from scratch."
The prosecutors said as a result of Olsen's actions, city employees lost personal belongings as well as a sense of security. In addition, the damage in the building resulted in the large single-location insurance claim for the state of Colorado, totaling an estimated $25 million, though the exact amount will not be finalized until the end of 2026. Taxpayers will bear some of this burden, even with the insurance, prosecutors said.
When Olsen "returned to reality," he was "horrified" by his actions, the defense said. His intent was never to hurt anybody and the weight of what he had done hit him with "devastating clarity," she said. He provided a complete statement to police and has cooperated with them since his arrest.
In the aftermath, Olsen made a choice to understand what had happened to him and to change the course of his life, the defense said, and immediately sought help at a recovery center on his own accord.
Olsen pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the arson charge, which was the most serious one filed against him. He also agreed then to pay restitution.
During the sentencing hearing on Friday afternoon, Valerie Sims, a psychologist who worked with Olsen, said what happened on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2, 2024 "was a severe drug-induced psychotic episode." He had been awake for days on substances and had paranoia, delusions and felt he was being chased by "shadow people," she said. What happened that evening was not calculated criminal behavior, she said.
Since then, his transportation has been "remarkable." He is residing at a sober living facility and has found profound purpose helping others through their own addiction recovery, Sims said.
Olsen's girlfriend told the court that he plans to continue on his path of sobriety.
Kyle Errington, founder of Mountain West Recovery, said Olsen has been staying at the facility for about a year. Errington told the court that he has had 19 requests to attend criminal sentencings and has declined each one — except Olsen's on Friday.
“It’s because of Brandon that I said, ‘Absolutely, I will be here,'" Errington said.
Other people from Mountain West Recovery also spoke — one told the judge that he trusts Olsen so much that he named him as the power of attorney for his will.
Ryan Smith, a forensic social worker who worked with Olsen, called the defendant's trajectory post-arrest as "nothing short of incredible." Just after bonding out, Olsen went to Mountain West to begin his sobriety journey. There, he moved up in the ranks from assistant house manager to house manager to peer coach, helping others stay on track as they fight addiction. Those jobs were not handed to him — they were earned, Smith said.
“Brandon’s entire life revolves around recovery and service to others," he said.
Smith said he first met Olsen in jail in early 2024 after his arrest. Olsen was "horrified" by what he had done but was resolute to seek help and rebuild his life, Smith said.
Smith told the courtroom that Olsen understood that his actions from that evening in January 2024 deserve punishment. But he asked the judge to take into account how many people Olsen helps on a daily basis and the work he is doing to reduce crime in his community.
The defense asked the judge for the minimum sentence of eight years, stressing that Olsen's risk to the community is low and his opportunities to continue to make meaningful change is high. The prosecution asked for the maximum sentence of 14 years.
Around 3 p.m. Friday, the judge sentenced Olsen to eight years in prison.
The judge told Olsen that while he cannot undo his prior actions, he can live the rest of his life in a way that makes amends and continues the internal work he has already started.
