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Crime Briefs: Burglary leads to heroin discovery

Ryan Summerlin
rsummerlin

A 26-year-old man picked up a couple of Glenwood Springs cases recently involving drugs and burglary.

In the first case, he and another man had gone, armed with a handgun, to a trailer where he believed a woman had taken some of his property.

The property owner renting the space to this woman reported that he had evicted her recently, and that based on security footage, these men appeared to have taken a backpack that the woman had stolen from the property owner.



In the video footage, one of the men could be seen concealing a handgun in his waistband before approaching the trailer. This led investigators to believe they had gone to the trailer to forcibly search the woman’s property, according to an affidavit.

In this case, the 26-year-old was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary, criminal attempt to commit first-degree burglary, both felonies, and misdemeanor second-degree trespass.



The second man was later arrested on a warrant charging weapons possession by a previous offender and violation of a bail bond.

Searching for the 26-year-old, Garfield County sheriff’s personnel spotted his vehicle on Highway 82 south of Glenwood Springs. They pulled him over after he failed to stop at a stop sign.

Patting the man down out of concern over the previous weapons violation, an officer found a digital scale in his pocket.

He also had a small case, and he said he “was going to (be) honest and stated there was some heroin in the case.”

Inside they found small bags of a brown substance weighing in total about 3.8 grams. It also contained a bag of white substance, which turned out to be .5 grams of methamphetamine.

In this second incident, he was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and two counts of possession of a controlled substance, both drug felonies, petty offense possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to stop at a stop sign, a traffic infraction.

SUICIDAL MAN found with heroin

Glenwood Springs officers responded to reports Wednesday night of a suicidal male who was refusing to go to detox.

A family member reported that the 22-year-old man was addicted to heroin, Xanax and possibly methamphetamine.

Spotting the young man running near Axtell Park, officers stopped him on Grand Avenue. He told officers he had a needle on him, and they also found him with an electric lighter typically used to start camp stoves and grills. An officer wrote in the affidavit that the combination of such a lighter and needle often indicates heroin use.

The man’s pupils were heavily dilated, and an officer questioned whether he had recently used any drug.

He “said he wanted to be honest with us and told us … that he had used ‘tar and a 20 milligram Oxycodone pill’ really early that morning,” an officer wrote.

Checking the area where officers first came into contact with the 22-year-old, an officer also discovered a tightly wrapped baggy containing about .3 grams of heroin. The 22-year-old denied that this belonged to him.

He was arrested on possession of a controlled substance, a drug felony, and petty offense possession of drug paraphernalia.

DUI stop uncovers forged documents

A Glenwood Springs officer pulled over a 21-year-old man in a white sedan early Feb. 5 and arrested the driver for driving under the influence.

The young man denied drinking that evening, according to police, but he blew a .145 on a breathalyzer test.

Officers were impounding the vehicle when they recovered the 21-year-old’s wallet, which contained “a large amount of cash and two forged federal government identifications,” according to an affidavit.

One was a photo ID and the other was a Social Security card.

He was arrested on two counts of felony forgery, along with misdemeanors including DUI, no proof of insurance and driving without a license.


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