YOUR AD HERE »

Garfield County Crime Briefs: Drunk driver dashes for home

Alex Zorn
  

At around 10 p.m. Feb. 20, a Colorado State Patrol officer was driving down on Interstate 70 near New Castle when he noticed a car traveling with a defective passenger side tail light.

According to an incident report, as he followed the vehicle he noticed the driver crossed the lines of his lane several times.

The patrol officer activated his overhead emergency lights as the vehicle was getting off I-70 at New Castle.

The car continued up the ramp and ran through the stop sign at approximately 5 mph, turning right on Castle Valley Boulevard, according to the arrest affidavit.

The officer then observed the vehicle fail to stop at the four-way-stop intersection at Highway 6, turning left toward downtown. At this point, the officer activated his audible siren, but the driver just continued.

The officer observed the driver weave drastically within its lane, states the officer’s affidavit. There was also a person in the passenger seat, “making numerous furtive and erratic movements within the front seat.”

As the vehicle approached downtown, a second cop car began following. Five minutes after initial contact, the officer advised it was now a pursuit. The officer was asked by nearby agencies if he needed further assistance.

He requested deputies deploy stop sticks near the 101 mm of Highway 6 headed toward Silt. Garfield County sheriff deputies were set up at the location and waiting.

The vehicle continued to drive erratically with speeds between 30 and 45 mph, states the affidavit.

Had the driver not stopped, police were prepared to utilize a Tactical Vehicle Intervention maneuver to end the pursuit before entering Silt town limits. Before reaching the stop sticks, however, the vehicle steered sharply left into the eastbound lane of travel and then back into the shoulder of the roadway before stopping.

The driver complied with orders to roll the window down, turn off the vehicle, place the ignition keys on top of the hood and exit the vehicle.

Upon arrest, the driver said he was only trying to get the vehicle to Silt so that it would not be impounded, states the affidavit. The driver, 30, said he had active arrest warrants for parole violations and identified drugs that would be found in the car.

Officers observed a partially empty bottle of liquor in the vehicle as they were retrieving his wallet. He also had the distinct odor of alcohol coming from his breath, according to the affidavit.

The man was arrested for a series of charges, including driving under the influence of alcohol and possession of Schedule II controlled substance.

APARTMENT VANDALISM

Garfield County Sheriff’s officers were called at around 1:30 on Feb. 12 for reported damaged done to an apartment unit on Highway 82 near Glenwood Springs.

The reporting party stated that another gentleman was going to move into one of his apartments when he got a call from an electrician he hired to work on one of the vacant units, saying there was damage, according to an arrest affidavit in the case.

The reporting party said that when he entered the apartment he saw knives stuck to the wall, a bathroom mirror was broken and two light bulbs were missing. The stove hood was also bent and the shelves were broken. And, an ID was also found on a table in the apartment.

The approximate cost of the damages was around $2,000 to $2,500.

The person who was going to move into the apartment said he had met the person in the ID at a restaurant in town a few nights earlier. The man said he was interested in one of the available apartments and even met with the two men a few days prior.

An arrest warrant for the suspect, age 34, was posted for second degree burglary and criminal mischief.

SUSPICIOUS PILL BOTTLE

Just before 5 p.m. Feb. 18, an officer noticed a Rifle resident getting into his vehicle on East Fourth Street. The officer indicated in a police report that he knew this individual did not have a valid drivers license.

The officer pulled the suspect over, and indeed he did not have a driver’s license or vehicle insurance, according to an affidavit.

After arresting the driver, age 42, for two outstanding warrants, officers went back to the vehicle to talk with the passenger. The officer detected an odor of burnt marijuana from the vehicle. The officer saw a small bottle behind the female passenger’s feet and asked her what it was.

She said she did not know what it was and that it was not hers. The woman was also placed under arrest and narcotics were found in the bottle.

A search of the vehicle also turned up needles and other drug paraphernalia.

The passenger later told officers that when the driver spotted the police he threw it under the passenger seat.

She directed the police to where they would find more drug paraphernalia in the driver’s home. There, police reportedly found more narcotics. The driver was additionally charged with possession of heroin, methamphetamine and LSD, and threes counts of possession with intent to distribute, among other charges.

azorn@citizentelegram.com


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.