UPDATE: The suspect has been arrested, according to Colorado State Patrol.
The suspect in an armed carjacking has been arrested, after police say he stole at least three vehicles Sunday, including an unmarked Colorado State Patrol car.
The chase started Sunday around 8:30 a.m. when the state patrol was asked to assist another agency in pursuit of a stolen car, according to CSP Sgt. Troy Kessler. During the traffic stop, the suspect allegedly stole an unmarked CSP cruiser on Interstate 25 northbound near Highway 119, Kessler said. That car became disabled at some point and the suspect then allegedly stole a Chevy Cruz.
CSP troopers and Longmont police officers lost him in the area of Main Street and 2nd Avenue. They were then alerted to a theft of the Dodge Ram, but he still hasn’t been located as of around 1:30 p.m., Kessler said.
Colorado State Patrol
One witness described the scene at the intersection of Highway 66 and Route 287.
The witness, who asked to only be identified as “Ben,” was driving with his girlfriend when they suddenly hit traffic.
His girlfriend took a picture of the scene, not knowing what was happening yet.
Courtesy / Kenzie
He said he saw a car come to a stop in the middle of the intersection and several police cars stopped behind it. Moments later, a man got out of the car and put a gun to his own head, according to Ben. Several officers got closer to him and tried to corral him away from traffic while forming a barrier between the suspect and nearby motorists, many of whom were stuck in traffic now.
Ben said after he saw the gun, what started as curiosity quickly turned into terror.
“It was honestly just fear. It started off with curiosity … but we realized very quickly how serious it was,” he said. “We felt trapped because there was a car in front of us, a car behind us, cars all around. What do you do in this situation?”
Around 2:45 p.m., CSP confirmed that the suspect was arrested, but few other details were immediately available.
One Longmont man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had just gotten home from Denver when he saw police cars lined up on his block.
Courtesy
His mother said she witnessed part of the chase earlier in the day and thought it might be related. He saw a man with face tattoos and maroon shorts and felt confident it was the same man.
“I said, ‘look, this guy is here! He’s right by my house!’ That’s when I started recording,” he told CBS News Colorado. “I had my children and I knew he was a runner, so if this guy wants to run from the cops, I told my wife ‘just run inside the house,’ because he was right there.”
