Man arrested with replica guns after crime spree in Eastern El Paso County

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - The El Paso County Sheriff's Office (EPSO) says they arrested a man Thursday morning who was in possession of realistic-looking replicas of a rifle and handgun.

EPSO said he had also been on an overnight crime spree in Lincoln and El Paso Counties.

At 6 a.m. Thursday morning, the sheriff's office was called to a convenience store in the 1500 block of Meadowbrook Parkway because a man was outside the store acting erratically while holding a rifle. When deputies arrived, the man was standing next to a vehicle but fled on foot, the sheriff's office said.

According to EPSO, while deputies were searching the area for the man, he attempted to steal a different vehicle but ended up fleeing through a creek bed toward the Claremont Ranch neighborhood. He was then apprehended on Dewhirst Drive. The first vehicle the suspect was standing by was determined to be stolen out of Lincoln County, the sheriff's office said.

The suspect was identified as 32-year-old Nathaniel Strawder, and he was found to be connected to multiple vehicle break-ins and burglaries that happened the night before in Lincoln County and Eastern El Paso County, according to EPSO. Strawder was charged with Motor Vehicle Theft, 2nd-degree Burglary, 3 counts of Criminal Trespass Auto, Theft, Criminal Mischief, and Possession of a Controlled Substance. He is currently being held in the El Paso County Jail on a $10,000 bond.