Pre-Dawn Colorado Carjacking Leads To Afternoon Police Pursuit
LAFAYETTE, Colo. (CBS4) - A man and woman at a popular overlook above Boulder were robbed at gunpoint early Saturday morning. Police later chased their stolen vehicle through Boulder County and along Interstate 25 but failed to corral the suspects.
The stolen Lexus RX330 was last seen headed toward Greeley on State Highway 34 after Larimer County authorities called off a short pursuit.
Police were notified at 3:26 a.m. after a passerby helped the couple call 911. The pair told dispatchers their phones, wallets and car had been taken at gunpoint five minutes earlier while they sat at Panorama Point on Flagstaff Mountain. They described two young males as the suspects. One had a handgun. Gunshots were reportedly fired shots as the suspects drove away in the stolen Lexus.
A citizen found the Lexus's license plates later Friday morning. They had been discarded in Lafayette near Centaur Circle and South Boulder Road.
At 1:50 p.m., a citizen called police about a suspicious black Lexus SUV -- without license plates -- driving on Centaur Circle.
Police found the Lexus and initiated an on-again, off-again chase, according to Sgt. Clay Leak of the Boulder County Sheriff's Office. The pursuit was called off as the stolen Lexus maneuvered through high-volume streets and high-density areas, but resumed as it entered county roads.
Boulder County deputies and Erie PD officers joined the chase, as did the Colorado State Patrol when the stolen Lexus ran southbound on Interstate 25 and then back north.
The pursuit lasted approximately half an hour and reached speeds of 100 miles per hour.
BCSO's Leak was involved in the pursuit and said suspects were "evasive and reckless" in eluding officers and "put peoples' lives in danger."
There were no further details about Larimer County's efforts to stop the Lexus.
The suspects are both described as in their late teens. One was wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans, had long, braided hair, and was armed with a handgun.
Leak labeled the incident a carjacking and armed robbery. Additional traffic charges would be brought against the suspects if and when they are caught.
There were no crashes and no injuries during the encounters.
Anyone who sees the vehicle is asked to call 911 and not to approach the vehicle. Anyone with information about the incident or the suspects is asked to call Boulder County dispatch at (303) 441-4444 or Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers.
