JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) – A commercial burglary devolved into a gunfire-exchanging ordeal Thursday evening between two suspects, who allegedly stole a vehicle, and three Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office deputies.
According to JCSO, the vehicle was stolen from Maxx Steel before sunrise. The victim later located their stolen vehicle with the two suspects still in it, parked at an RTD lot along Highway 285.
After the victim reported the discovery to the police, the suspects drove the vehicle, which was still towing a trailer, northbound on Highway 285.
The victim followed while again contacting the police, who instructed him to stop following the suspects. It was at this point the suspects opened fire on him.
The suspects then exited Highway 285 before heading south on South Turkey Creek Road. Deputies caught up to them around Tiny Town and exchanged gunfire with the suspects along South Turkey Road.
The suspects then continued traveling at a speed between 65 and 70 mph, traveling back on and off the highway before ending back up on South Turkey Creek Road.
The trailer disconnected from the vehicle at this point and that is when officers again fired upon the suspects.
Now with blown-out front tires, the suspect traveled along South Turkey Creek Road before heading north on Quincy Avenue. They then turned onto Youngfield Street, where they proceeded to drive onto the Weaver Hollow Recreation Area’s baseball diamonds, which at the time had pedestrians on it.
Officers followed the suspects onto the field, pursuing them until they slammed into the back of a parked RV.
The suspects then fled on foot but were subsequently caught and taken into custody before being able to escape the neighborhood. One of the two suspects was taken to the hospital and the other is in custody. Neither were shot and no others were injured.
The officer-involved shooting will be investigated by CIRT, the First Judicial Circuit’s Critical Incident Response Team.
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