Homicide Suspect Arrested Outside Colfax Motel
LAKEWOOD, Colo. (CBS4) - A man suspected in a homicide case is under arrest after an overnight SWAT situation at a motel in Lakewood. Two other suspects wanted in connection with the homicide were arrested last week.
Police have identified the suspect as Andrew Gutierrez, wanted in a Lakewood murder that took place on May 15 on the 1400 block of Harlan Street. The victim in that case was Eric Schnaare, 41, of Littleton.
CBS4 captured images of Gutierrez, 46, with tattoos on his chest and no shirt, getting handcuffed and arrested outside the Denver West Inn motel at 7150 West Colfax Avenue about 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Police said they first came to the motel at approximately 8 p.m. on Tuesday in hopes of spotting Gutierrez. They said they believed he was dangerous and possibly armed.
A SWAT team was called in and at one point overnight police made contact with people who were with Gutierrez in his room. After what they said was several hours of communication between those people they talked directly to the Gutierrez.
After a period of negotiations, Gutierrez surrendered. He faces multiple charges including first-degree murder.
A police spokesperson told CBS4 the department is relieved that the situation came to a peaceful conclusion. They said they were concerned there might have been a shootout.
One woman who has been living at the motel for six months said she was shocked to see 50 to 60 police officers heavily armed in the motel in the middle of the night.
"I'm shivering. I'm shaky, I'm scared, I'm worried, just for (my daughter)," she told CBS4.
On May 20, detectives with Lakewood Police arrested two people at a home in the 4500 block of Stuart Street in Denver. Those arrested were John Orlando Sanchez, 40, and Amelia Marie Irizarry, 45.
Sanchez and Irizarry were arrested on unrelated warrants as well as new charges connected with the homicide investigation. They were booked through the Lakewood Police Department before they were transported to the Jefferson County Jail.
