Pueblo police arrest robbery suspect who ditched burning truck

Pueblo police arrested an armed robbery suspect who may have also set a truck on fire, then ditched it. Investigators say the suspect has warrants out of Pueblo and Colorado Springs.

Fire crews were called to the 1000 block of E. 12th St., around 1 a.m. Thursday. According to a Pueblo Police watch captain’s Twitter account, Julian Archuleta, 33, had dumped a pickup truck and burned it. The flames then spread to an outbuilding by the truck.

Earlier that evening, police believe Archuleta entered a Subway on Northern Avenue on Pueblo’s side and confronted employees with a handgun around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night. He then left the fast food chain restaurant with an undisclosed amount of money.

Police say the 33-year old man left in a green Dodge pick-up truck, which officers believe could have been stolen and may have been used in other robberies around Southern Colorado.

A little less than an hour later, officers located the green pickup at Constitution Road and Horseshoe Drive. The truck then fled police and entered a field of prairies and dirt roads just east of Troy Road. It was there that the driver was able to elude police.

After additional investigating, officers believed that Archuleta was at a residence in the 1500 block of N. Lacrosse Avenue. Officers arrived at the home and searched it with the homeowner’s permission.

While searching the home, authorities say Archuleta called police dispatch and told them he was in the basement bathroom of the home, and if they came in and tried to arrest him he would kill his girlfriend who he held hostage with him.

Next door neighbors tell us they saw a large police presence outside of their homes from 2:30 a.m. until they left for work around 7 a.m. One next door neighbor says they even saw police in riot gear.

After two hours of negotiations, Archuleta agreed to let his girlfriend, who also had warrants out for her own arrest, go safely. Forty-five minutes later SWAT broke into the bathroom and apprehended the suspect.

Archuleta was found with deep cuts to both of his wrists and was losing a significant amount of blood. He was transferred to Parkview Medical immediately. He is currently still there and is in critical condition.

Pueblo police say Archuleta could be connected to a number of other armed robberies all across Southern Colorado as well, including robberies in Colorado Springs.

The fire was contained and no one was hurt. Investigators believe the truck was used by the suspect to elude police Wednesday evening.Police later tracked Archuleta to a home on N. La Crosse Dr., where a barricade situation began. After lengthy negotiations, Archuleta emerged with a knife injury. His girlfriend was inside the home with him and told authorities he had injured himself with a knife.

Archuleta was taken to the hospital for the injuries and will be booked once he’s released.

Further investigation revealed that Archuleta had robbed the Subway restaurant on W. Northern Ave. Wednesday night. He entered the restaurant, displayed a gun, confronted employees and left with an undisclosed amount of money.