Fabrizio Lorenzin faces charges of tampering with a public water system, tampering with evidence and two counts of theft. The alleged incidents began in 2019 along the Berthoud Pass Ditch, which carries water toward Standley Lake in Westminster for Northglenn’s use. The charges have not been proven in court, and Lorenzin has not publicly discussed the case.

An arrest affidavit says workers found rocks wedged beneath ditch gates on multiple occasions, allowing water to flow instead into creeks that feed the Fraser River, a Colorado River tributary. The first documented tampering occurred in August 2019. Northglenn installed a trail camera soon afterward, and investigators say footage showed a man resembling Lorenzin. Similar findings were reported in 2022 and 2023.

Investigators allege Lorenzin also took trail cameras belonging to the city and the Environmental Protection Agency. According to the affidavit, tracking devices on three cameras registered at his home. During a 2024 search, investigators found hundreds of images recovered from a camera’s memory card, along with searches about camera models and how to lower headgates, the affidavit says.

Northglenn has not commented on the investigation or the effects of the alleged diversions. The affidavit says the city spent between $50,000 and $100,000 on repairs after the 2019 incidents.

In Lorenzin’s Denver neighborhood, several residents described him as a resourceful person who often helped with repairs and collected discarded wood. They said he told them he brought the wood to “his beavers.” One neighbor recalled Lorenzin saying he was taking scraps to care for the animals; another said he mentioned beavers while removing a tree.

Those accounts have led neighbors to wonder whether Lorenzin was trying to keep water flowing to wildlife habitat. His neighbor Jesus Nuñez said Lorenzin might not have understood the consequences if he diverted water, though Nuñez acknowledged the impact could be serious.

There is no confirmed explanation for the alleged tampering. A Colorado State University beaver tracking tool indicates possible beaver activity along parts of the Fraser River, including an area about two miles downstream from where the ditch ends. But wetland ecologist Joanna Lemly said beavers are less likely to live at the ditch’s high elevation, around 11,300 feet, and more likely farther downstream.

Lemly said drought and drying watersheds can make it difficult for beavers to remain in an area. She also noted that habitat restoration efforts follow regulations and environmental practices. If Lorenzin was trying to help beavers by redirecting water, she said, he was acting on his own.

The ditch runs across a high mountain ridge near U.S. 40, with five gates along the stretch inspected by visitors. The gates control whether water continues through the ditch or flows into natural creeks. Signs warn that tampering is a federal crime, and cameras are positioned nearby.

Lorenzin has been held at the Grand County jail since late August, although his bond was set at zero and he could leave jail while awaiting a hearing under conditions. His neighbors said his absence has been felt on their block. He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday in Hot Sulphur Springs.