Two suspects connected to stolen vehicles, tools found near Longmont

Kelsey Hammon, Daily Times-Call, Longmont, Colo.
·2 min read

Oct. 20—The Weld County Sheriff's Office said charges are pending against a Denver man and Fort Lupton woman in connection with the theft of eight vehicles and more than $140,000 in tools that were recovered from a storage unit east of Longmont.

The Weld County Sheriff's Office Strike Team investigated the case, according to a sheriff's office news release. The Strike Team is a specialized unit that hunts fugitives and conducts investigations into crime rings.

The release said that a 26-year-old man and 23-year old woman are suspects. The charges, which haven't yet been determined, could be referred to other jurisdictions as investigators continue to connect stolen property to open investigations throughout the Denver area, the release said.

Both the man and woman were already in jail for unrelated charges.

According to the Weld County Sheriff's Office, the investigation began Sept. 1 when deputies responded to a self-storage business east of Longmont to conduct a follow-up investigation into an assault case involving the man.

The release said that while at the business, deputies discovered two suspicious vehicles parked near a storage unit rented by the suspects.

A check of the vehicles through the Colorado Crime Information Center revealed they had been reported stolen out of Firestone and Westminster, the release said. Deputies contacted the owners to return the vehicles.

The owners told the sheriff's office that the vehicles were packed with tools and other items that didn't belong to them, according to the release.

The Strike Team executed a search warrant at the self-storage business, recovering eight stolen vehicles worth an estimated $113,000, one trailer and approximately $140,725 in stolen tools and other high-ticket items, the release said.

The investigation is ongoing, but to date, investigators have connected recovered property to more than a dozen active criminal cases, including one out of the Estes Park Police Department, two out of Westminster, two out of Firestone, four out of Weld County and five out of Longmont, the release said.

Property also has been connected to two active Denver Police Department cases, including an investigation into 11 vehicles stolen from Denver International Airport, the release said.

Strike Team members are seeking to reunite owners with their stolen tools, but a challenge is that most are marked simply with the person's initials.

Anyone with information regarding this or any other crime is asked to call the Weld County Sheriff's Office at 970-356-4015 or Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).