Deputy ambushed, shot while responding to a theft in Lincoln County

LINCOLN COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - The sheriff's deputy shot multiple times while responding to a 911 call near Limon is in serious condition but will survive his injuries.

“I am happy to report that deputy sheriff Michael Hutton of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office is in serious but stable condition,” says Captain Michael Yowell with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. Deputy Hutton a seven-year veteran with the Sheriff's Office was the first to arrive to a theft call just after 3 a.m. Thursday.

The shooting happened near mile marker 386 on U.S. Highway 40/287. A semi-truck driver called authorities after he noticed someone broke into the back of his trailer and started to steal merchandise inside.

Deputy Hutton arrived shortly after the call was made and was ambushed by the suspect.

“Within seconds of being out of his car and investigating this theft, he was met with a hail of gunfire and was struck multiple times,” Captain Yowell says adding Deputy Hutton was able to get to cover and provide aim to himself.

The driver who reported the call was also injured but does not have serious injuries. After shooting at the driver and Hutton, the suspect ran on foot away from the shooting. A swarm of sheriff's deputies and multiple other agencies arrived and transported Hutton to a Denver-area hospital where he is recovering.

Hutton was wearing a bullet-protective vest but was not hit in the chest. Yowell says he is now surrounded by family while at the hospital. “He has a young son, he is married and I am happy to report his family is at his side right now and that spirits are high in that room along with the sheriff and the undersheriff," Yowell says.

As for the suspect, the Sheriff's Office says he was found dead about a thousand yards away in a field from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.