Carjacking & Sex Trafficking Suspect Pleads Not Guilty To 76 Counts
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) – A carjacking and sex-trafficking suspect who led deputies on a wild crime spree last summer pleaded not guilty to dozens of charges in court on Monday.
Christopher David Sullivan, 37, has four separate criminal cases against him. On Monday he pleaded not guilty to a total of 76 counts against him, with a majority of them coming from the day he allegedly led police on a chase after stealing cars.
It was a wild scene in a Lookout Mountain neighborhood, and then along Interstate 70 in late July. Homeowner Steve Jackson says Sullivan tried to break into his home.
"He whips around the corner and he's standing down there and starts to come up the stairs and he's got the rifle," Jackson told CBS4 in July.
Deputies say Sullivan carjacked three people. Prosecutors believe a 17-year-old girl, whom he left behind, was a sex-trafficking victim that Sullivan brought into Colorado from New Mexico to lure her into prostitution.
In video from Copter4 during the chase, Sullivan can be seen looking for another car, entering a second home and then bursting through the garage door in an SUV. That vehicle soon crashes and Sullivan makes his way to I-70.
Jake Platz witnessed the incident.
"I, and a car in front of me, slowed down. I continued to slow down to see if he needs help. As I get closer I see he has an assault rifle strewn across his chest," Platz said.
That's when Jefferson County deputy Fred Haggett demanded Sullivan drop his weapon, but he would not drop to the ground.
"It's a momentary thought that I'm outgunned and I need to engage him. My sense was that he was trying to get into another vehicle, hijack another vehicle there on the highway, and I couldn't let that happen," Haggett said. "I'm very grateful for both of the gentlemen, the citizens, who were willing to jump in and help out."
Sullivan's family showed up in court Monday but didn't want to talk on camera.
Sullivan will be back in court March 20 for a motions hearing on all the cases against him.
