A couple of repeat offenders with a penchant for theft went on a weekend crime spree across Durango and La Plata County that ended in a standoff with law enforcement Monday morning at the Adobe Inn.
Both suspects were taken into custody but not before Janet Lee Lane, 34, barricaded herself into an upstairs room of the motel, according to police. Cody Joe Lynn, 35, was arrested in the parking lot of the Inn without incident.
The pair, who have a history of run-ins with law enforcement and incarceration, were arrested after a series of events unfolded early Monday, according to a news release from the Durango Police Department.
At 7 a.m., La Plata County Sheriff’s deputies responded to an overnight burglary at a Tailwind Nutrition building near Durango-La Plata County Airport. A green Ford Transit van with a Tailwind logo on the side was stolen during the burglary. At 7:24 a.m., a Durango Police Department officer attempted to stop a green 2023 Kia Sportage driven by a woman later identified as Lane, for speeding through a school zone in the 700 block of East College Drive. But the officer broke off pursuit out of caution for pedestrians and commuter traffic.
At 8:58 a.m., an employee of Tailwind spotted the stolen van with a man inside parked next to the Adobe Inn at 2178 Main Ave. Two Durango Police Department officers, who were near the Inn when the employee called, closed in quickly and saw Lynn walk from the van into the Inn’s parking lot where he stood next to the green Kia Sportage that had eluded the officer earlier. Lynn was arrested. But Lane, who was standing behind the Kia, went upstairs and locked herself in the couple’s room. She refused to leave for several hours.
Officers recognized Lane and learned she was wanted on an unrelated warrant in Montezuma County for forgery. Several hours passed while law enforcement waited for a search warrant. During that time they tried over the phone to persuade her to leave the room. She refused. When the search warrant arrived at 12:04 p.m., Durango police officers used a pass key to enter the room. Lane was arrested without incident.
Details of the couple’s weekend crime spree began coming in while officers were still at the Inn, via phone and online reports from people who had been victimized. A joint investigation by DPD and the Sheriff’s Office was launched because the couple’s crimes took place on city and county property.
The Kia was stolen from a residence on Rim Drive near Hillcrest Golf Club. The pair had pried open a back door to the house Sunday night while the homeowners were out of town, said Durango police Sgt. Detective Chris Thomson.
“They basically ransacked the inside of the house,” he said. “They opened up all the drawers looking for valuables.”
Detectives searching the stolen Kia and van found handguns, hunting rifles and shotguns that were stolen from the house, Thompson said. They also discovered tools, camping equipment and mail stolen from multiple locations.
The couple are being held at the La Plata County Jail where Lane faces felony burglary, felony aggravated motor vehicle theft, felony attempt escape and violation of a protection order, a misdemeanor, along with the forgery charge. Lynn, who was on parole from the Colorado Department of Corrections, has been charged with felony burglary, felony aggravated motor vehicle theft, felony attempt to escape, misdemeanor theft and possession of fentanyl tablets.
The couple have been on local law enforcement’s radar since 2017, but have no known address, according the DPD and the Sheriff’s Office. Lane was arrested Aug. 21 on suspicion of heroin possession but released on a summons. She was then arrested Aug. 31 on suspicion of harassment, domestic violence, vehicular eluding, extensive mail theft and ID theft, criminal possession of a stolen ATM card, and eluding. The car she was driving hit a spike strip in northern New Mexico, which caused her to go headlong into oncoming traffic on U.S. Highway 550 before crashing into a field.
Both Lane and Lynn were “contacted” in a stolen U-Haul on Oct. 21, where Lane was arrested for violation of a protective order because she was not supposed to have contact with Lynn, according to law enforcement.
gjaros@durangoherald.com
