Police arrest three people, recover multiple stolen vehicles out of Cańon City
CAŃON CITY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Three people face multiple charges after a multi-agency investigation into multiple stolen vehicles out of Cańon City.
Sunday, July 24, 2022, at 7 a.m., officers with the Cańon City Police Department (CCPD) responded to a reported burglary and several stolen vehicles in the 2800 block of Fremont Dr.
Through the initial investigation, the CCPD discovered four vehicles were stolen from that location, totaling $228,000. Police tracked one of the stolen vehicles to Pueblo.
Below are the vehicles that were stolen:
- 2021 Chevy Suburban valued at $89,000
- 2013 Subaru Impreza valued at $14,000
- 2018 Chevy Silverado valued at $45,000
- 1961 Bel Air valued at $80,000
On Tuesday, July 26, 2022, officers with the CCPD and the Pueblo Police Department (PPD) found one of the stolen vehicles, a white Chevy pickup truck, in the 900 block of US Highway 50. Officers followed the truck to the 2500 block of Lake Ave. in Pueblo. There, police tried apprehending two individuals who were in the vehicle.
However, when offices approached the vehicle, 29-year-old Daniel Juarez got into the driver's seat and tried driving away. According to police, Juarez rammed into two occupied undercover and marked police vehicles.
According to police, a Cańon City police officer used his unmarked police vehicle to pin the suspect's vehicle to a wall, preventing Juarez from driving away.
Juarez and Oleta Witte, 29, were arrested.
Police say Juarez was a person of interest in several vehicle theft cases at the time of his arrest and was wanted by several regional police agencies. He had eleven arrest warrants out of Cańon City, Fountain, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo for a bond totaling more than $372,000.
According to police, his arrest warrants were for Attempted 1st Degree Homicide-Robbery, two counts of 2nd Degree Burglary, two counts of Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft, two counts of Burglary, Criminal Mischief, and Failure to Appear on traffic charges.
Juarez now faces additional charges of 1st Degree Assault, 1st Degree Motor Vehicle Theft, Vehicle Eluding 1st Degree Trespass, and Reckless Endangerment.
Police say Witte had six active arrest warrants totaling more than $66,000 for charges of Robbery, Larceny, and four counts of Burglary.
Officers later found the stolen Subaru Impreza and arrested 32-year-old Christina Juarez. She had an active arrest warrant out of El Paso County with a $10,000 bond.
According to police, officers from the CCPD and PPD were able to recover all of the stolen vehicles.
Cańon City Chief of Police Chief Schnick said auto theft has steadily increased across all of Colorado. According to Colorado State Patrol (CSP), Colorado has the most car thefts per capita in the United States.
