Man Escapes From Police Car During Arrest

Colorado Springs police said a man escaped from a police car after four were arrested for attempting to shoplift a Safeway store Thursday afternoon.

Police said about 1 p.m., three of the suspects attempted to shoplift at the Safeway at 30th Street and West Colorado Avenue, while the fourth suspect waited in a vehicle. Loss prevention officers in the store confronted the suspects, police said, and one suspect pulled out a gun. Police said the suspects fled, and the store officers contacted police.

An employee at the nearby Walgreens drug store said one of the suspects ran through, which led to initial reports that the incident began there.

Spc. Anthony Strange, an off-duty Fort Carson military police officer, was at the Safeway and saw the suspects flee. He said he chased a male suspect for a few blocks and tackled him through a fence. That suspect was arrested. Police said two more suspects ran to the Garden of the Gods Motel, where they broke into a motel room to hide, surprising a cleaning crew there.

Police said as officers approached, one suspect pulled a gun out before both suspects fled. One was caught by a customer at the nearby Agia Sophia coffee shop, and the other was also taken into custody.

While handcuffed in the police vehicle, police said the fourth suspect — believed to be the team’s getaway driver — escaped by apparently kicking out a rear window. Police said he ran to a red Dodge Dakota and drove away, and that it’s unclear who was driving the truck.

Police followed the vehicle to 27th and Kiowa streets where the suspect fled and escaped. He is described as a white man in his 30s, weighing about 200 pounds with brown hair. Police said the man possibly remains handcuffed.

Stay with KRDO Newschannel 13 and KRDO.com as they continue to track the search for the remaining suspect.