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Former Victims Concerned While Escapee Was On The Loose

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – A Douglas County couple experienced more than a week of tension knowing a man who victimized them had escaped from jail and was on the run.

Travis Sandlin, 32, escaped from Jefferson County Jail on Oct. 5 by climbing out a small gap of fencing and dropping onto a roof. He was the first inmate to break out of the jail in its 27-year history.

Travis Sandlin (credit: Jefferson County Sheriff)
Travis Sandlin (credit: Jefferson County)

Court records indicate Sandlin has been a career criminal up to his escape from jail. And when he got out, victims from his past alleged crimes were concerned.

Natalie Reyes was burglarized by Sandlin inside her Douglas County home last summer.

"He had broken into our garage, and he had (gone) inside my car and stole credit cards, debit cards, cash, my bank statements," Reyes said. "Not only was he at our residence, but he was in our garage and so close to where me and my husband were at."

It would be months later when Natalie Reyes and her husband John realized that the man accused of stealing from them was the Jefferson County inmate who escaped from jail.

"It did make us feel kind of uneasy because we realized he was still in the area; he was still in neighborhoods that were around in our house," Natalie Reyes said. "So that was kind of scary for us."

Sandlin was on the run for approximately 10 days. Police say during that time he racked up more crimes from stealing cars and credit cards until he crashed a stolen minivan and was arrested.

"A little worried, you know, we made sure things were locked and made sure to be safe and a couple sleepless nights wondering 'what that noise was?' " John Reyes said. "I was just happy that I didn't confront him in the middle of the night … the things he took were replaceable and nobody was injured."

The Reyes family says the lesson learned for them is to close the garage door and lock house doors.

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