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Basalt armed-robbery suspect still on the lam

Andre Salvail
The Aspen Times
Post Independent
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado

Area authorities on Friday were continuing to search for a second suspect in an armed robbery that reportedly occurred Thursday at the home of a Basalt woman in her 70s.

Penny Paxton, operations sergeant for the Basalt Police Department, said she could not release the name of the suspect and added that the public is not being provided a description to assist law enforcement. The suspect and another man were allegedly involved in a burglary on Riverside Drive around noon on Thursday, an incident that evolved into an armed robbery.

Meanwhile, a 24-year-old man who was arrested Thursday evening in connection with the armed robbery was advised of charges against him in Garfield County on Friday.



Michael Charles Hawkins, of Parachute, faces three charges in Garfield County stemming from his apprehension by Glenwood Springs police: criminal mischief under $500, obstructing a police officer and possession of marijuana. The first two charges are misdemeanors and the latter is a petty offense.

Jason Slothouber, assistant district attorney in the 9th Judicial District, said those charges were the result of Hawkins’ attempt to evade police after he was found in the area of 23rd Street and Grand Avenue.



“There is now a separate case related to his arrest here,” Slothouber said. “He attempted to flee, and tried to climb on top of a vehicle and then jumped onto the roof of a local business here in Glenwood. Officers located him and he jumped down and kept running. They managed to corner him in an apartment complex and officers drew their Tasers on him and that’s when he finally submitted to arrest.”

Hawkins also had a marijuana roach in his pants pocket when he was arrested, the prosecutor said.

He is being held in the Garfield County Jail on $3,000 bond on the Garfield County charges in addition to $25,000 bond on a lone Eagle County charge: crimes against an at-risk adult (robbery), a felony. Slothouber said he understands that Hawkins will be advised of that charge next week in Eagle County District Court.

As of the second suspect, Paxton said her department had yet to locate the individual.

“It’s one of those things where any agency now could end up finding him,” she said. “There is a warrant for his arrest.”

Paxton declined to provide further details because the investigation remains open.

On Thursday, Basalt Police Sgt. Stu Curry told The Aspen Times that Hawkins and another man were suspected of burglarizing the home around noon Thursday. Authorities had reason to believe the suspects thought the home was unoccupied.

But the occupant, an elderly woman, was in the shower at the time of the robbery, according to Curry. She came out of the shower, and one of the suspects pulled out a handgun, turning the incident into armed robbery, he said.

The woman was uninjured. The perpetrators took several items and left, according to police. They told the woman that they would come back and kill her if she contacted police, Curry said.

Police obtained information about the identity of a suspect or suspects within an hour and were able to come up with an identification, Curry said. Authorities obtained a search warrant and information that led to the arrest of Hawkins later in the day.

asalvail@aspentimes.com


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