A Fort Lewis College associate professor pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony arson charges related to a fire at south City Market in the chip aisle that caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

Law enforcement accused Bradley Clark, 46, of trying to burn and destroy City Market after allegedly lighting a bag of Mission tortilla chips on fire earlier this month.

Prosecutors charged him with three Class 4 felonies – including attempting to commit first-degree arson, second-degree arson and criminal mischief – each of which is punishable by two to six years in prison and $2,000 to $500,000 in fines.

District Court Judge Suzanne Carlson scheduled Clark’s three-day trial to start Feb. 10, 2020.

Clark appeared in La Plata County Combined Courthouse on Thursday and declined to comment on his case. His defense attorney, Brian Schowalter, also declined to comment.

“Dr. Clark is very eager to get his life moving forward,” Schowalter said to Carlson at the hearing. “Dr. Clark’s life is essentially on hold.”

Clark, a political science and philosophy associate professor at FLC, was placed on paid administrative leave after the arson allegations. He’s also been banned from south City Market as a condition of his $25,000 bail.

bhauff@durangoherald.com