Lakewood man gets 228 years in sex assault, church burglaries

Linwood Richard Halliburton

JEFFERSON COUNTY – A Lakewood man convicted in the 2008 sexual assault of a church member during the burglary of a church was sentenced Friday to 228 years in prison.

Linwood Richard Halliburton, 45, will spend the rest of his life in prison for breaking into two Lakewood churches and assaulting the woman while in the midst of a burglary at the First Presbyterian Church. The church had given him a helping hand several times before the night of the crimes, providing him with food, gift cards and other assistance.

Halliburton also was convicted of charges stemming from a Feb. 10, 2008 burglary of the United Methodist Church at 14th and Brentwood in Lakewood.

That burglary occurred the night before the break-in and sexual assault at First Presbyterian and was part of what prosecutors labeled a “two-night crime spree.”

Prosecutors said Halliburton rummaged through the Methodist church offices looking for items of value and he triggered a security alarm, but fled the scene before officers arrived. But he cut his hand during the break-in at that church and left a trail of blood in the snow. Lakewood police followed his blood trail and footprints to a nearby mobile home park, but were unable to locate a suspect,

The next night, as Halliburton was in the midst of a burglary at the Presbyterian Church at 8210 W. 10th Ave., the assault victim arrived to prepare for choir practice about 7 p.m. She encountered the burglar inside the church office and told him to leave, prosecutors said.

When confronted, Halliburton attacked the woman, pummeling and kicking her. He demanded her purse and personal identification numbers before forcing her into a more secluded area of the church where the sexual assault took place, according to evidence presented during Halliburton’s six-day trial in Jefferson County District Court.

The attack was interrupted as choir members began arriving for practice and Halliburton fled the scene. Police were on the scene within minutes and, believing the two church burglaries were connected, sent an officer to stake-out the nearby mobile home park where they lost the suspect’s trail the night before.

The officer soon spotted Halliburton, and, after approaching the suspect, found Halliburton was carrying the victim’s credit cards and other items that had been inside her stolen purse.

DNA evidence presented at trial linked Halliburton to both burglaries and the sexual assault. Halliburton took the stand in his defense and admitted the burglaries, saying that he was hungry and drunk, but denied he sexually assaulted the woman.

A jury in October convicted Halliburton on charges of sexual assault by force, assault during a burglary, robbery, felony menacing, third degree assault, burglary and theft. In December, he was determined to be a chronic offender due six other felony convictions.

Because of that determination, his sentences were quadrupled.

Halliburton had been paroled from prison at the time of the Lakewood crimes, but was eluding his parole officer, according to court records.

“It’s hard to believe that at times we cannot even be safe at church, but it’s gratifying to know that through the diligent and professional efforts of the Lakewood Police Department and the courage of our victim we were able to bring this man to justice,” prosecutor Steve Jensen said when Halliburton was convicted.