Colorado man pleads guilty in series of crimes in New Mexico

A Colorado man has pleaded guilty to carjacking resulting in death and other offenses stemming from a series of crimes committed in 2017 in New Mexico.

Federal prosecutors say 35-year-old Daniel Allen Lowell of Pueblo made his plea Thursday and faces up to life in prison when he’s sentenced.

Lowell and 32-year-old Trista Marie Schlaefli of Colorado Springs allegedly fled from a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint west of Las Cruces in a stolen pickup truck in November 2017.

The couple allegedly carjacked an SUV from a family at gunpoint and a subsequent collision killed a retired Las Cruces police officer on a motorcycle.

They then attempted to carjack two other vehicles before being arrested by New Mexico State Police.

Prosecutors say Schlaefli pleaded guilty to multiple charges last November and is awaiting sentencing.