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Fugitive Captured After Going Down 17 Story Trash Chute

DENVER (CBS4)- A fugitive on the run was captured and cuffed after he went down 17 stories in a trash chute while trying to escape from police.

"You have to think that he's extremely desperate," said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Kenneth Deal.

Donnie Griffin was wanted out of Texas on bank fraud charges when he escaped federal custody. Authorities found even more items inside his apartment in Denver that may get him into more trouble in Colorado.

Donnie Griffin
Donnie Griffin (credit: CBS)

The U.S. Marshals Office found several law enforcement badges inside Griffin's apartment. They haven't said what he was doing with those badges but the items are part of the investigation after he tried to escape from the 20th floor of the Glass House building at 1700 Bassett Street in downtown Denver.

"We're going to have to take a look and see whether or not he was impersonating law enforcement officers and that may be one of the reasons why he took such efforts to elude arrest this afternoon," said Deal.

Fugitive Donnie Griffin Arrested
Donnie Griffin being arrested in February 2014. (credit: CBS)

Marhals said Griffin escaped from federal custody in Texas last year. They tracked him to his apartment in the Glass House building in downtown Denver. But he didn't go easily.

"As we breached the door we noticed that the individual was scaling from his balcony on a sheet to the 19th floor, the floor below," said Deal.

Officers eventually tracked Griffin to the 17th floor where the only place he had left to go was down, down the trash chute, all the way to the first floor.

"He must have been desperate to get the heck out of the building, that trash chute is terrible," said Jeff Dams, who lives in the building.

Griffin was taken to the hospital where he was treated for injuries he sustained while tumbling down the chute.

Glass House Fugitive raw eb
The Glass House building (credit: CBS_

The incident caught neighbors by surprise.

"Just wondering what happened, you don't usually see this much excitement around here," Glass House resident Gary Daly said. "It's a little unnerving for our building."

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