Colorado Court Says it Can’t Consider Hitching Post Arson Appeal

Federal prosecutors say a Denver appeals court doesn’t have authority to consider an appeal from a New Mexico man serving six years in prison for commissioning the arson that destroyed a landmark Cheyenne hotel.

Ajay Jariwala of Albuquerque pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit arson of the Hitching Post Inn.

Jariwala was a principal in the company that owned the hotel. Prosecutors say he commissioned the 2010 arson to try to defraud an insurance company of more than $13 million.

Jariwala appealed after his sentencing, saying it wasn’t fair that he got more prison time than a man who set the blaze.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Anderson of Cheyenne filed papers this week saying the court doesn’t have authority to consider the appeal because Jariwala pleaded guilty.