Man leads Fountain Police on car chase to Pueblo after stealing car with child still inside

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) -- A 39-year-old man is in custody after stealing a car with a child still inside and leading officers with the Fountain Police Department on a car chase through Pueblo.

While conducting traffic safety enforcement in the area of northbound I-25, near mile marker 122, officers with the Fountain Police Department saw a vehicle with expired license plates that was unable to stay in its lane.

When officers tried conducting a traffic stop, FPD said the vehicle drove off at a "high rate of speed." Due to safety concerns, officers stopped trying to contact the vehicle.

However, seven minutes later, officers found the vehicle unoccupied at a 7Eleven at 601 South Santa Fe Avenue. While at the gas station, a report came in of a vehicle being stolen from the 500 block of Royalty Pl., less than a mile away.

The victim said someone was stealing her car with her child with special needs still inside. The suspect drove a few hundred yards before yelling at the child to get out of the car.

The FPD said thankfully, the mother and child were quickly reunited. The child was unharmed.

A short time later, officers found the stolen vehicle off I-25 near mile marker 123. while trying to contact the driver, he accelerated and almost hit officers before driving south on I-25 toward Pueblo. Investigators confirmed this was the same suspect in the earlier confrontation.

Detectives followed the suspect through Pueblo County into the City of Pueblo. With help from deputies with the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office and officers with the Pueblo Police Department, the suspect was taken into custody.

The suspect was identified as 39-year-old Bryan Howay. Detectives were able to recover the stolen vehicle and returned it to the owner.

According to the FPD, Howay had an active warrant for a parole violation issued by the Colorado Department of Corrections and an active misdemeanor warrant for traffic-related offenses out of El Paso County.

In 2019, police said Howay was sentenced to three different cases for a total of 16 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. He was released on parole in 2022.

Howay was booked into the El Paso County Jail on the following charges, Vehicular Eluding (felony – 2 counts), First Degree Aggravated Motor Vehicle Theft (felony), Second Degree Kidnapping (felony), Reckless Driving (misdemeanor - 2 counts), and several other misdemeanor charges.