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Thornton Police Catch Man Suspected Of Robbing One Woman, Hitting Another With Stolen Car

By Anna Maria Basquez

THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) – After a short chase, police caught a man suspected of robbing one woman and hitting another with a stolen car. It started at a Walmart in Thornton during rush hour on Wednesday.

Police say a man, who had a dog on a leash, took an item from a woman leaving Walmart at 9901 Grant Street in Thornton. Another woman tried to chase him to get the item back. The suspect, who was in a vehicle stolen out of Lakewood, knocked over the woman who tried to apprehend him.

"She got knocked down by the vehicle when she was trying to get the item back. She wiped out when he was leaving the parking lot," said Joseph Walker, police officer and spokesman for Thornton Police Department.

That woman was injured and was treated in a nearby hospital and later released.

Walker declined to say the item that was attempted stolen, though stated it was not considered high-dollar.

The driver took off and was apprehended 1.5 miles away in Northglenn by at least 12 responding police officers at the 7-11 in Northglenn.

"And so after they arrested the suspect, the car he was in was found to be stolen out of Lakewood so it was a good arrest," Walker said.

Charges were pending and the lead investigator was unavailable on Thursday, he said.

"I can say statewide, and I'd make a guess nationwide, auto thefts have been increased especially since the pandemic started," he said. "Definitely property crimes have been on our radar for awhile. Around half of auto thefts are the result of people leaving their keys somewhere in the vehicle."

He also said visible items left in cars lead to heavy car property theft also.

 

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