UPDATE: Charges Filed Against Subject of Manhunt That Ended in Cheyenne
Police in Thornton, Colorado say they have filed charges against a 33-year-old man who was arrested in Laramie County last month after they issued a BOLO alert in relation to a shooting incident.
RELATED: Colorado Homicide Suspect Arrested in Laramie County
Case Background
Police Called to Shooting
According to a department Facebook post, the case started on June 19, after it was reported that someone in a vehicle had fired multiple rounds toward a residence in the 9500 block of Clayton Court.
Police say responding officers spotted the suspect vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver fled.
They say multiple shell casings were recovered at the scene but, fortunately, no one was injured.
BOLO Issued for Attempted Homicide
"Officers identified a suspect (Carlos Valiente Lopez), determined there was no ongoing threat to the public, and confirmed the incident appeared to be targeted," the post reads. "Officers issued a BOLO (be on the lookout) for attempted homicide based on the seriousness of the incident and the information available at the time."
Suspect Arrested in Wyoming
Early the following morning, Valiente Lopez was arrested on Interstate 80 near Cheyenne after a Laramie County Sheriff's deputy spotted him coming into Wyoming, asked for backup, and the Wyoming Highway Patrol showed up.
"The trooper that showed up has one of those Grapplers," Sheriff Brian Kozak said that morning in his Sheriff's Update. "It sends out a netting (and) catches the rear wheel to prevent a pursuit from happening."
"So, the idea was to actually get behind the vehicle, initiate the Grappler, (and) initiate the traffic stop," he added. "And so, they did that and the edge of the trooper vehicle caught the edge of the road and it rolled."
Kozak says the trooper was wearing his seat belt and, thankfully, wasn't injured, and they got Valiente Lopez stopped.
"Hats off to the trooper in this situation because he did not want to risk having a homicide suspect at large in our community and nor did they want to risk having a high-speed pursuit as people (were) waking up and headed to work," said Kozak.
"Unfortunately, they could not see into the vehicle because the windows were so dark," he added. "So, they're calling him out and he's not moving ... so, they deploy a 40 mm ... and bust out the windows in the truck so they can see in."
Valiente Lopez was booked into the Laramie County Detention Center on a window tint violation while police further investigated the shooting, and at about 6:40 p.m., they provided the Laramie County Sheriff's Office with a copy of an arrest warrant in relation to the shooting incident.
21 Charges Filed
On June 25, the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office charged Valiente Lopez with nine counts of felony menacing, eight counts of felony vehicular eluding, and four counts of criminal mischief.
Police say they're aware of online commentary referring to Valiente Lopez as a homicide suspect.
"To clarify, this was a non-injury shooting," the post reads. "While the initial BOLO reflected the severity of the incident, the final charges were filed based on the available evidence."
Please remember that all suspects are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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