Theft
April 16
5:37 p.m.: A sergeant was asked to speak with a woman wanting to report a theft occurring off of Highway 491. When the sergeant contacted her she said that someone had stolen a John Deere two bottom plow, valued at $50 from her property. The woman told the sergeant she did not know who would have stolen this but she and her husband were planning on driving around to look for it. The sergeant will conduct a follow-up investigation.
Traffic
April 15
Apr.15.: Sheriff's Deputies assisted Cortez police officers who were attempting to stop a vehicle that was being driven carelessly. The driver failed to yield to emergency lights and siren and continued driving south on Highway 491. Vehicle speeds were between 45 mph and 65 mph. Cortez police officers and sheriff's deputies followed the vehicle south past the casino. The Colorado State Patrol set spike strips south of the casino on the highway. The vehicle ran over the strips and the driver pulled over. Officers realized something was not right with the driver. The ambulance was asked to respond to check the driver out. According to a Cortez police officer the driver was suffering from diabetic shock. Sheriff deputies cleared the scene.Note: Drivers suffering from diabetic shock may mimic persons driving under the influence of alcohol.
Careless driving
April 14
8:00 p.m.: The undersheriff was travelling north on Highway 491, in her unmarked patrol vehicle, when she saw a gray Chevy truck come up behind her very fast almost hitting the rear bumper of her patrol vehicle. The undersheriff had just passed another vehicle and was merging back into the right lane when the truck passed her and swerved back in front of her almost striking the front bumper of her patrol vehicle. The undersheriff activated her red and blue lights and the truck pulled into the parking lot of a gas station. When the undersheriff contacted the driver he held a valid driver's license, but had not changed the address, and could not produce valid registration or insurance.Dispatch notified the undersheriff that the driver is participating in pretrial services and has multiple restraining orders against him. The undersheriff issued him a summons for careless driving and gave him a warning for the rest of the traffic offenses.
Disturbance
April 13
6:15 p.m.: A deputy responded to Road 27 regarding a trespass complaint. The reporting person said he had text his boss to say he would not be working for him anymore. Later his boss and two other men and a woman showed up, uninvited, to his house yelling at him to come outside and talk to him. He did not want to have a confrontation with them so he hid in his bedroom while his girlfriend and friend went to talk to the boss. The friend was pulled out of the house by his shirt while he was telling the men to leave the property. They left the property but a short while later the girlfriend heard a knock at the back door and saw that it was the boss again. He opened the door and asked to speak with her boyfriend. He was told no and to leave. The boss then began to yell and curse at the man hiding. Another of the men showed up at the back door and began yelling for the man to come outside. Again, they were asked to leave the property, and the door was closed. The door was opened again by the men and they were told to leave. The man hiding said he had a gun and would use it to protect himself. At this time the men got in their truck and left. When the deputy contacted the man's boss he said he was upset over the text and went to talk to him about it. The other employee said he went over there to talk to him and let him know he was disappointed in him. The deputy told all persons involved that the man did not want to press charges but they are all absolutely not to go back to his property or call him. All said they understood.
Theft
April 7
Apr. 7.: A deputy was dispatched to Road M in reference to a stolen ornament. The deputy contacted the female complainant who said unknown people had stolen a lawn boy ornament from her yard. The owner said she bought the ornament thirty years ago at an antique auction in Durango for $1,800. She showed the deputy a picture of the ornament and described it as being approximately four feet five inches tall. The ornament lawn boy has a red hat, black face, red jacket, white pants, black boots, and it is holding a welcome sign in one of its hands. She told the deputy it had recently been repainted and was in good condition. A suspect was mentioned by the owner and the deputy will follow up.
False Reporting
April 7
10:30 a.m.: A deputy was requested to respond to a reported traffic accident. The victim of the accident told the deputy she had parked her truck as far off of the road as possible while she opened her gate when another truck purposely swerved to hit her truck. She said there was approximately $1000 worth of damages to the truck. She said she knew the driver who struck her truck, at 50 mph. "She has it in for my mother who just got back with her son," the reporting person said. The deputy noted that there were no tire marks near the victim's truck, paint transfer or evidence that there was an accident at all. The deputy contacted the suspect who said she drove by the victim that morning at about 20 mph and had two passengers with her. The suspect's two passengers verified that she hadn't hit the other truck and was traveling at 20 mph. Both parties have been in verbal altercations relating to the romantic issues of their relatives.The deputy found the report of the accident to be false and there is no victim or suspect. Both parties were warned of the seriousness of false reporting.
