After the Fall: Man Who Was Living in the Yard House Ceiling Sentenced

If you were going to live above a restaurant, would you choose the downtown Yard House? And by "live above," we're not talking about a second-floor apartment. We're talking about the crawl space above the ceiling. But Stephen Graves apparently took the "House" in the restaurant's name literally, and made himself...

By Westword Staff

March 4, 2015

Audio By Carbonatix

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Billboard - Slot Inline - Content - Labeled - No Desktop",
            "component": "23668565",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "STN Player - Float - Mobile Only ",
            "component": "23853568",
            "insertPoint": "2",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
          },{
            "name": "Editor Picks",
            "component": "17242653",
            "insertPoint": "4",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18838239",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - 2x Rectangles Desktop, Tower on Mobile - Labeled",
            "component": "24956856",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 8,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
            "maxInsertions": 25 
          
          },{
            "name": "Inline Links",
            "component": "18838239",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          },{
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard to Tower - Slot Auto-select - Labeled",
            "component": "17676724",
            "insertPoint": "8th",
            "startingPoint": 12,
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
            "maxInsertions": 25
          }
        ]

If you were going to live above a restaurant, would you choose the downtown Yard House? And by "live above," we're not talking about a second-floor apartment. We're talking about the crawl space above the ceiling. But Stephen Graves apparently took the "House" in the restaurant's name literally, and made himself at home there late last year.
On December 10, Graves fell through the ceiling of the Yard House, which he had "unlawfully occupied," according to the Denver District Attorney's office, "causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage when he broke a sprinkler head, causing flooding." Graves was taken to jail, the restaurant had to close for the day while a hole was cut in the wall to repair the plumbing, and the neighboring Sheraton did a mop-up job, too.

Yesterday the 36-year-old Graves pled guilty to first degree criminal trespass; the court sentenced him to two year's mental health probation to run concurrent with two other cases, one in Jefferson County and another in Denver.

A message from Food & Drink Editor Molly Martin: If you value independent journalism, please consider making a contribution to support our continued coverage of Denver’s evolving dining scene and the latest culinary innovations our community offers.

Support Today