Joint law enforcement operation in Pueblo locates 15 missing kids, several fugitives
Pueblo law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Marshals Service for the District of Colorado located 15 missing children and arrested or cleared 13 warrants for wanted fugitives as part of a recent joint operation, they announced at a Friday press conference.
In a video summarizing parts of the operation posted to the Pueblo County YouTube page Thursday, it was initially stated 13 children had been located, but that number was updated to 15 at Friday's event.
The U.S. Marshals Missing Child Unit and Colorado Violent Offender Task Force combined forces with the Pueblo Police Department, Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office and 10th Judicial District Attorney's office, among other agencies, to locate children who were missing for civil or criminal purposes as part of “Operation Steel City Rescue.”
That group completed a second operation, dubbed “Operation Clean Up,” which helped them locate wanted fugitives, including 13 sex offenders from the city and county of Pueblo, some of whom were arrested.
Both operations were conducted April 11-13.
“It was successful beyond our expectations,” 10th Judicial DA Jeff Chostner said during the press conference.
U.S. Marshal and former Pueblo County sheriff Kirk Taylor, who initiated the efforts, said that the public can expect his office to be “more involved in the footprint around the southern and Western Slope of Colorado in the future.” He said the mission and expectations from law enforcement “haven’t changed” despite multiple local agencies dealing with staffing shortages.
Taylor also said the missing children the team identified were found in multiple locations, including California. It received a list from the department of Human Services of which children in their system were considered “potentially endangered.”
According to a news release, the focus of the “Steel City Rescue” operation was to find children who had been reported as “missing to law enforcement, entered into the National Crime Information Center or to National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as missing.”
The children who were located ranged in age between 15 and 18 years old and were considered “some of the most at risk and challenging recovery cases in the area,” according to the release.
The undercover “Steel City Rescue” operation started in January with a “primary focus to find missing children in the Pueblo area,” according to the release. The team then expanded its efforts to include the fugitive arrests, Taylor said.
Chostner said he dedicated several attorneys and investigators from his office to aid in the effort and Pueblo PD Chief Chris Noeller said Pueblo PD officers, detectives and special unit detectives also were involved.
"I think Pueblo is a safer place today than it was even 72 hours ago," Chostner said. "It's safer for children and the public at large because of the combined efforts of these agencies."
Team aids Cañon City police in 'significant' drug seizure
The group also assisted the Cañon City Police Department in the arrest of Robert Broman, who was taken into custody April 11 during a tactical vehicle assault in the 300 block of Royal Gorge Boulevard in Cañon City, according to a release from Cañon City PD.
Through searches of multiple residences and Broman's vehicle as part of their investigation, the team helped Cañon City police recover and seize 11,302 fentanyl pills, about 143 grams of meth, approximately 5 grams of heroin and six firearms, Cañon City Police Chief John Schick said. The total street value of the seizure, in addition to money that was seized, was about $125,000.
Broman had previously been charged with two counts of unlawful distribution, unlawful possession, and as a special offender, Schick said. As of April 13, Broman was being held in Fremont County Jail on a $10,000 cash or surety bond.
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Schick said he was told that the seizure in Cañon City is “the largest and potentially deadliest seizure of illicit drugs that PD has intercepted in more than a decade.”
“This is not common,” CBI Agent Kevin Torres said during the press conference. “I’ll be first to tell you along with Chief Schick that in Cañon City, this is a significant seizure.”
Schick said the investigation into the event remains active and that subsequent arrests are expected.
“This case proves to me that we still need effective enforcement to dismantle the supply chain of illicit drugs in Colorado,” Schick said. “I would like to see much more in terms of collaboration through establishment of state and regional narcotics task forces. The numbers speak for themselves.”
Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Joint law enforcement operation locates missing kids, arrest fugitives
