a Colorado man’s attempt to escape a crime scene was thwarted when he requested an Uber. Wheat Ridge police officers responded to a call about an intruder at a plumbing business, leading to an unexpected encounter captured on police bodycam footage.
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According to reports, a witness called 911 after spotting a hole in the fence surrounding the property and witnessing someone stealing tools. When officers arrived, they noticed an Uber driver waiting nearby. Curiosity piqued, they approached the driver, who informed them he was picking up a passenger named “Jose,” walking towards the car.
Bodycam footage revealed the moment police officers approached the suspect, who identified himself as “Jose.” However, upon closer inspection, the officers noticed that he matched the burglary suspect’s description. Sensing something amiss, they questioned him further. The suspect then changed his story, claiming he was going to his car to fetch something for his mother and insisted that his name was “Raul.”
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Officers discovered a backpack containing a stash of Milwaukee-brand tools worth over $8,600 as the situation unfolded. The suspect’s attempt to deceive the police had failed, as fingerprint scanners revealed that his real name was not “Raul.” Consequently, the Wheat Ridge Police Department intended to recommend a felony theft charge and six additional misdemeanor charges to the First Judicial DA’s Office of Colorado.
“We’ll be recommending a felony theft charge, along with six misdemeanor charges to our partners at the First Judicial DA’s Office of Colorado.”
The incident quickly garnered attention, with residents commenting on the police department’s post about the crime. One woman shared her own experience, recounting a similar encounter with ex-employees attempting to steal from her business.
“I’m so glad they found the guy. We’ve had several ex-employees come to our yard and steal equipment. We even had a guy tell us to purchase over 12k of equipment to start our new Sewer Division, and then he quit a week later and came to our yard and stole equipment to start our new Sewer Division, and then he quit a week later and came to our yard and stole everything, and started his own company. I’m so happy that for Blue Sky Plumbing, it ended better than our situation. Make sure to press charges; this ends up happening all the time and no one faces the consequences.”