PARACHUTE, Colo. — Garfield County Deputies arrested five teenagers they believe threatened to beat someone with baseball bats who planned to testify against them.
On Tuesday, deputies arrested Chad Lovelin, 18, Cory Dale Hudson, 18, Christopher Payne Bridgewater, 19, Kevin Gary Janicek, 18, and a 14-year-old on charges of menacing with a deadly weapon, engaging in a riot, aggravated intimidation of a witness or victim, disorderly conduct and harassment. Lovelin also received an open container of alcohol in a vehicle charge, a possession of drug paraphernalia charge and a minor in possession of alcohol charge.
According to an arrest affidavit, a deputy responded to a call of harassment on Tuesday at a Parachute residence. A mother said she returned home to find several kids her son is scheduled to testify against hanging around her house. She said they had baseball bats, were threatening her son and left on foot towards Tamarisk Trail when she arrived, the affidavit says.
Community Relations Deputy Tanny McGinnis said the two cases the teenager was going to testify about were burglary cases.
The son told deputies two teenagers pulled into the driveway in a truck and threatened him, the affidavit says, and he said they were on his property and he would do anything he had to to defend it. The son told deputies the truck drove away and returned with three more individuals. He said Lovelin, Hudson, Bridgewater, Janicek and the juvenile were in the truck, the affidavit says, and that they had three baseball bats and threatened to beat him up. Deputies drove to a suspect's residence and found Lovelin's truck with a bat, beers and a scale commonly used to weigh drugs, according to the affidavit.
Contact Pete Fowler: 945-8515, ext. 16611
pfowler@postindependent.comPost Independent, Glenwood Springs Colorado CO