YOUR AD HERE »

Crime Briefs: Trespasser leaves behind over 100 beer cans and resume

Ryan Summerlin
rsummerlin@postindependent.com

Responding to a trespassing report, Glenwood Springs police stumbled upon a foul scene in an empty home the morning of Aug. 13.

The owner lives in the house next door to the vacant house on the 1300 block of Blake Avenue. The owner said she has had trouble with people trespassing there before.

Officers found a window broken out at the corner of the house, leading into a coal cellar. The owner knew something was amiss when she found the front door unlocked. Inside were more than 100 beer cans, and someone had rummaged through the owner’s boxed-up items.



The owner reported that “inside the house there is a large amount of human waste in the toilet,” according to an arrest report. “It is overflowing onto the floor. The bathtub was also used as well as a box that was left in a bedroom,” an officer wrote in his report.

The house had no plumbing, so the owner “had to clean up this horrific mess,” the officer wrote.



The owner also found a handwritten note from the trespasser, a resume with a man’s name and telephone number and an invoice from the Marriott Residence Inn bearing the same name.

The trespasser “was thoughtful enough to leave the homeowner a note indicating he had in fact entered the home without permission due to bad weather. He also indicated that he noticed lots of books and how when he helped clean a house previously he found a lot of money in them. He advised he would be willing to pack a bunch of boxes if they would let him stay there for a couple weeks,” the officer wrote.

A 37-year-old man of the same name was arrested five days later on charges of second-degree burglary and first-degree trespassing, both felonies, as well as a petty offense for littering.

BAD PARKING LEADS TO DRUG FIND

Silt police responded to a parking complaint at Holiday Inn Express the evening of Aug. 18 about a Jeep and wound up arresting a man on drug and distribution-related charges.

While on scene for the complaint about the Jeep, an officer noticed another vehicle, a van parked right next to it, known by Silt officer to belong to a 49-year-old man recently arrested for driving under the influence of methamphetamine and driving without a license.

The van owner had also been seen at the location of a drug bust at a Silt residence earlier in August.

Earlier that day, hotel staff servicing the 49-year-old’s room went to fix the refrigerator because it was making a funny noise. While they were working on the fridge, they found several glass pipes.

“One pipe was described as having a long tube and approximately 5 inches tall with black residue,” according to police. “They also described a glass pipe with a bulb on the end as well as a crystal-like substance in several containers.”

The officer then got a warrant to search the room. In the room officers found about 50 grams of crystal-like substance that tested positive as methamphetamine, small plastic baggies containing methamphetamine, a digital scale, a measuring spoon, baggies of a black and brown tar-like substance that later tested positive for heroin and several paraphernalia items.

The 49-year-old was arrested on charges of possession with intent to distribute and possession of a controlled substance, both felonies, as well as misdemeanor driving without a valid license and petty offense possession of drug paraphernalia.

Ex-employee accused in beating

Garfield County deputies responded to an assault in progress Monday afternoon on Colorado 82 near Cattle Creek.

A recently fired employee showed up to collect his last paycheck from a business there, but the employee working at the time said he didn’t have the authority to sign over a paycheck. He reported that the 28-year-old man became upset and attacked him.

He began punching the employee in the face and put him into a choke hold, the employee said. The two fought, and as the employee tried to get away, the ex-employee broke a wood beam over his back. Officers photographed a long straight red mark, bruised and swollen, across his spine.

Later that afternoon the ex-employee went to the sheriff’s office saying he wanted to report that a man had hit him in the head. The man said he had been to the business several times to get his last paycheck.

He said that the employee there “treats people very bad and takes advantage of people who do not have papers,” according to an arrest report.

When he went to collect his check that day, the employee cursed at him, told him to get out and pushed him, he said. The ex-employee said he punched at the man, but missed. He eventually added that he had thrown the stick at the man, but had not hit him with it.

The 28-year-old ex-employee was arrested on felony second-degree assault.

strangulation with iron cord

Deputies responded to reports of an assault the evening of Aug. 18 at a residence near the intersection of Colorado 82 and Spring Valley Road. They received reports that one man had choked another with an extension chord and was chasing him with a knife, according to an arrest affidavit.

Deputies called for anyone inside to come out of the house. A 28-year-old man, who would later be arrested, came out of the house and was weaving as he walked, his eyes “bloodshot and glazed.”

At the house, deputies found several people who appeared to be very intoxicated. The 28-year-old had gotten into an argument with another man and pushed him, witnesses said. A third man stepped in and they began fighting, punching one another and wrestling to the floor. In the process, the 28-year-old overpowered the other man and wrapped the power cord of a clothes iron around his neck.

A deputy found a 3- to 4-inch, deep red bruise on his throat. The 28-year-old said that another, unidentified man had come into the house, started the fight and left.

The 28-year-old was arrested on felony second-degree assault.

Silt police find woman with meth

A 24-year-old woman was arrested on drug possession charges in Silt earlier this month after police stopped and questioned her about a possible restraining order violation.

Police found the suspect with a white BMW that Silt police say is known to be used in drug trafficking and belongs to a man known to be involved in the drug trade.

When she finally gave officers her name, they found she had a felony, no-bond warrant out of Grand Junction on dangerous drugs.

In one of the bags she had with her officers found a “glass bong commonly used to smoke/ingest methamphetamine, bandages, five insulin needles, one loaded insulin needle with a clear unknown liquid, and a glass container with a white crystalline residue,” according to police.

She denied ownership of these items, though her ID was found in the same bag. The liquid in the syringe later tested positive for methamphetamine.

She was arrested on felony unlawful possession of a controlled substance and petty offense possession of drug paraphernalia.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.