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Man Tries To Hide From Cops In Store Ceiling

By Andrea Flores

DENVER (CBS4)- A portion of East Colfax Avenue near Ulster Street was blocked off Friday afternoon after witnesses say a man ran from police and got stuck in an unlikely place—the ceiling of a cell phone store.

"Everybody's all calm and then out of the nowhere a bunch of cops come in," said a witness, who did not want to be identified.

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The witness claims the man walked into a nearby Boost Mobile store with two other men to activate a cell phone.

"He ran inside the store all the way to the back, thinking he was going to be able to get out through the back, but since [you need a key to open the back], he couldn't get out."

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Denver police says the man became lodged in the ceiling tiles of the cell phone store.

"He climbed through the roof, but since there's another floating roof, he fell down," a witness said. "He tried getting out of the main roof, but that one is wood, so he couldn't."

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The man wanted by police was stuck in the ceiling for 30 minutes before eventually surrendering to officers.

"Everybody got scared because they took everybody out of their businesses from the whole block," said the witness.

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Now, businesses around East Colfax plan to be more cautious of customers.

"I'm going to be more aware because you never know what their intentions are," the witness said.

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Denver police say it's still unclear why the man was wanted.

Andrea Flores is a reporter for CBS4. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter @AndreaFloresTV.

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