Man who led Pueblo Police on car chase through city and shot at officers faces 25 years in prison
PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - A man who led Pueblo Police on a lengthy car chase through the city pled guilty to charges related to the chase and firing at officers. He now faces 25 years in prison.
In June 2022, officers with the Pueblo Police Department began pursuing three people connected to an attempted bank robbery. According to police, the suspects tried using a stolen truck to steal an ATM from a Pueblo bank. PPD said one of the suspects fired a rifle at a witness in the area.
After stopping the chase for public safety, police learned the trio of suspects had carjacked a 70-year-old woman - triggering another chase. During the chase, PPD said the suspects shot at officers, hitting one patrol vehicle. The Pueblo County Sheriff's Office said one officer fired back, hitting the vehicle and two of the suspects. They both suffered minor injuries.
After roughly 20 minutes through Pueblo, investigators used a pursuit intervention technique (PIT) maneuver to disable the stolen vehicle just south of the city on I-25. Two of the suspects tried running but were caught after a short chase.
The three suspects, Bryce Ming, Elisa Montoya, and Juan Aguilar, were arrested.
Tuesday, the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office announced Ming pled guilty in Federal Court to three charges, including attempted homicide of a peace officer. He's set to be sentenced later in September.
According to the Pueblo Police Department, Ming was wanted in April 2022 for a no bond warrant for a Parole Violation, which includes trespassing. He also had a second no bond warrant for Larceny and a third warrant for Motor Vehicle Theft x2.
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The 10th Judicial Critical Incident Team investigated the incident, with the PCSO being the lead investigative agency on the case. Detectives with the PCSO filed all charges in the case to include federal charges on Ming. He was also charged with aggravated motor vehicle theft and vehicular eluding.
The other two suspects pled guilty to their charges in district court. Montoya was sentenced to six years in prison and Aguilar is set to be sentenced soon.
