Burglaries led to motorcycle chase
An investigation into a series of burglaries and the recovery of two stolen vehicles over the past week led to a nearly deadly crash at the end of a high speed chase with a motorcycle during the Friday noon hour.
The chase was first reported in Saturday's Times.
An elderly Fort Morgan couple escaped serious injury when a parole violator and burglary suspect fleeing law enforcement on a motorcycle crashed into their car on Barlow Road between MCC and Wal-Mart. Mabel Ingmire, 83, received minor injuries and was treated at Colorado Plains Medical Center in Fort Morgan, then released, after the 12:20 p.m. crash, Morgan County Sheriff Jim Crone said. Her husband and driver of the car, William Ingmire, 81, was shaken but physically OK.
The motorcyclist, Charles Henry Jr., 30, Brush, received relatively minor injuries despite the fact that his bike impacted the Ingmires' car at around 90 miles an hour, Crone said. After being treated at CPMC, Henry was taken to jail to face a variety of felony charges including parole violation, vehicular eluding, burglary and auto theft, the sheriff added.
The series of event began last week when Morgan County sheriff's deputies investigated a burglary in the 22000 Blk of Rd 23. The property owners drove into the residence and found a male and female subject loading several thousand dollars worth of power tools and other items into a van.
The suspects fled the scene but apparently returned Wednesday night and stole a $3,500 power washer, leaving the back seat of the van behind. The van belonged to a local woman who was in jail in a Western Slope county on drug charges.
Thursday night Brush Police officers located the van in VFW Park. Deputies responded and ultimately arrested Vanessa Marie Carrillo, 26, Fort Morgan and Christopher Lee Guinan, 22, Brush. The power washer was recovered, along with numerous items of drug paraphernalia. In addition, pieces of identification, phone and credit cards thought to be stolen were found in Carrillo's purse.
Both are being held without bond on felony charges, Carrillo theft by receiving, Guinan burglary and trespassing on agricultural property.
Friday just after 11:30 a.m., deputies, assisted by Brush Police, went to a residence in the 17000 block of Highway 71 searching for Henry, as he was being sought for violating his parole, plus was a suspect in the Road 23 burglaries and two unrelated auto thefts. Deputies saw a subject matching Henry's description trying to flee on a motorcycle but were unable to catch him before he drove off.
Several minutes later sheriff'ss Lt. Jon Horton spotted the motorcycle at Roads 21 and Q, and the suspect fled westbound on Q at high speeds. Fort Morgan Police Sgt Doug Schossow assisted Horton as they chased the suspect west on Rd Q at speeds near 120 MPH.
The suspect drove into the opposite lane at oncoming vehicles, including east of Wiggins when Wiggins Police Officer Les Jacobs attempted unsuccessfully to block the bike's access further west.
At Highway 52 the motorcycle went on to private property in an attempt to get around the pursuing vehicles and managed to get back on to Rd Q and go back eastbound. Two sheriff's investigators at separate locations also attempted to block Rd Q and get the motorcycle shut down, also without success.
At one point, Horton was able to crowd the bike off the road in attempt to force him to stop, only to have the driver yell at him and kick his patrol car as he managed to drive off once again. Other Fort Morgan police officers blocked county roads to keep the chase off city streets but they were not able to block Barlow Road, and the bike went north on Barlow, again at high speeds.
Crossing Highway 34, the bike continued north until Ingmire pulled out from the south entrance to Wal-Mart. He told investigators he saw the bike suddenly come around from passing a truck and tried to stop, but the bike struck the right front corner of the car.
After the impact, the bike went down and slid some 150 feet down Barlow Road and onto Imperial Onion's property. Henry landed in the middle of the street and, despite the impact, got up and ran several yards behind the Blockbuster store before he dropped to the ground and surrendered.
Barlow Road was closed for about an hour while Fort Morgan Police investigated the crash. The chase covered 33 miles and lasted 23 minutes.
Local law enforcement agencies and the Colorado State Patrol have debriefed pursuits for the past year or so and have worked to create guidelines to help better control and coordinate chases with the purpose of keeping the general public as safe as possible, Crone said. This incident will be debriefed in the next week to 10 days to see if the chase followed the guidelines that have been developed so far.
Stop Ssticks (tire deflating devices) were not used as their use is generally prohibited on motorcycles because of the potential to cause the bike operator to crash.
Methamphetamine appears to be a factor in these events, Crone said. Investigation in these cases continues, and more arrests could be made.
Topic: Fleeing Burglar Biker T-bones car at 90 mph /CO (Read 2323 times)