Published on October 30, 2015 in
News
CASTLE ROCK – Today, a Douglas County judge sentenced defendant
Ryan Cole Stone to 160 years in the Department of Corrections for a 2014
high-speed vehicle pursuit that required twelve law enforcement
agencies to respond and two district attorney’s offices to prosecute
(2014CR154 – Douglas).
In the early morning of March 12, 2014, the defendant approached
members of the Longmont Fire Department, who had their engine parked at
14
th Avenue and Sherri Mar Street in Longmont. The defendant
initially asked for a ride to a homeless shelter but mid-route, asked to
be dropped off at the Bradley Gas Station located at 1700 Main Street
instead.
Shortly after arriving at the gas station, the defendant found a red
Ford Edge with the engine running. The defendant got into the car and
drove off. The car had a four-year-old child in the backseat and once
the child’s mother realized the car was gone, the authorities were
alerted.
At 6:29 a.m., the Longmont Police Department dispatched an officer to
the gas station and by 6:59 a.m., an AMBER alert was issued for the
child.
Colorado State Patrol (CSP) found the defendant’s car on I-25 and
began to follow him. Although his emergency lights or sirens were not
on, the vehicle began to accelerate. The Ford Edge traveled at speeds
around 100 MPH and utilized all lanes of traffic.
At 7:38 a.m., the Brighton Police Department began its assistance in
the pursuit at I-76 and Bromley Lane. At 7:39 a.m., while on Bromley
Lane, the defendant struck the front passenger side bumper of a 2011 tan
Kia minivan and pulled in front of it. The defendant ran up to the
driver, pulled her out of her seat by the legs and ankles and forced her
out of the vehicle. A teenage passenger ran out of the minivan as the
defendant took control of it. When law enforcement arrived, they found
the four-year-old child along with the two victims of the Kia minivan.
The defendant continued the pursuit and drove westbound on I-76,
narrowly missing cars and law enforcement. He eventually drove onto
E-470 southbound while officers pursued with him with emergency lights
and sirens.
At 8:02 a.m., Colorado State Trooper Bellaman Hee attempted to deploy
stop sticks near the westbound exit of E-470 and Chambers Road. The
defendant approached Trooper Hee at a very high speed and struck him.
Trooper Hee landed in the field on the north side of the guardrail. The
defendant drove off with visible smoke emitting from the front end of
the vehicle. Trooper Hee sustained serious bodily injuries that included
compound fractures to his tibia and fibula.
At 8:03 a.m., the defendant exited the westbound exit of E-470 and
Peoria Street and struck a silver BMW with its front end directly over
the front driver’s side tire. The defendant got out of the car to yell
at the driver of the BMW, got back in his car, and drove southbound on
Peoria Street.
Two minutes later, the defendant struck a black Nissan sedan on
southbound Peoria Street. He rear-ended the black Nissan four times. The
victim moved his car to the left and the defendant continued his route.
A few seconds later, the defendant approached westbound Belford
Avenue and approached a silver Toyota sedan. He struck the front
driver’s side of the silver Toyota. The defendant got out of his car,
walked towards the driver of the silver Toyota and opened the driver’s
side door. The defendant pulled the victim out of the car and threw her
into the ground of the median. She immediately got up and tried to grab
the suspect but the defendant drove away.
At 8:06 a.m., the defendant drove the silver Toyota towards Lincoln
Avenue. A Douglas County Sheriff’s Office vehicle had their emergency
lights on at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and Peoria Street, next
to a dark-colored truck. The defendant tried to drive between the two
vehicles at the intersection but could not get through.
In an effort to get away, the defendant then hit another silver sedan
and Mazda SUV that were on the westbound intersection of Lincoln Avenue
and Peoria Avenue. The defendant got out of the vehicle, went to the
driver’s side door of a Subaru Outback. The Subaru was blocked by a DCSO
vehicle and was unable to drive further.
At 8:06:56 a.m., the defendant ran around the back of the Subaru
Outback towards the intersection and into a shopping center in the northwest side
of the intersection. As he ran around the facility, he turned a corner,
slipped, fell on his back, got up and continued to run.
At 8:07 a.m., the defendant tried to jump over a 6-foot rod iron
fence surrounding the Windsor at Meridian Apartments. When he was unable
to jump over the fence, the suspect continued to run down the fence for
about 50 feet. When DCSO deputies approached him, the suspect laid face
down on the ground and gave up. He was placed into custody.
The entire incident was approximately 90 minutes, of which 50 were recorded on video by a news helicopter.
On April 29, 2015, a Douglas County jury convicted defendant Ryan
Cole Stone (2014CR154 – Douglas) of 18 charges related to a car chase
that started in Longmont and ended in Douglas County on the morning of
March 13, 2014. The jury began deliberating the morning of April 28,
2015. The defendant was convicted on the following counts:
- One count of Attempted Manslaughter (F5)
- One count of First Degree Assault – Extreme Indifference (F3)
- One count of Leaving the Scene of an Accident Involving Serious Bodily Injury (F4)
- Two counts of Robbery (F4)
- One count of Vehicular Eluding (F4)
- Three counts of Motor Vehicle Theft – $20,000 or Less (F4)
- One count of Criminal Mischief – $20,000 or More (F3)
- One count of Vehicular Assault – Reckless (F5)
- Two counts of Child Abuse – Knowingly/Reckless-No injury (M2)
- Five counts of Leaving the Scene of an Accident – Damage Only (T2)
The jury found the defendant guilty of a lesser included charge of
the initial top count of Attempted First Degree Murder and found him
guilty of Attempted Manslaughter. He was found not guilty of one count
of Second Degree Kidnapping (F4) and one count of Attempted Robbery
(F5).
The defendant had also been charged with four counts of Habitual
Criminal sentence enhancements and one Violent Crime sentence
enhancement. The court found the defendant to be a habitual criminal on July 31, 2015.
Due to the severity of the crimes that occurred throughout multiple jurisdictions on the date of the incident, the 18
th Judicial and 20
th Judicial District Attorney’s Offices prosecuted this case. 18
th Judicial Senior Chief Deputy Jason Siers, 18
th Judicial Deputy District Attorney Laura Wilson and 20
th Judicial Chief Trial Deputy Adrian VanNice represented the People in this matter.
18
th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler stated:
“In jail, he bragged about mimicking a video game. On our roads, he put
himself above the safety of everyone—men, women, and children. In
beginning a 160 year sentence in prison, he is experiencing the part not
shown on the video game. He has chosen to live a life of crime, having
racked up five felony convictions before this latest crime spree. He is
one of the reasons why prisons exist and why our state continues to
support mandatory sentences to them for chronic offenders. Since I have
taken office, this guy is the third Douglas County defendant to earn a
triple-digit sentence to prison for endangering the lives of our law
enforcement officers and community. While other places outside of
Colorado seemingly struggle with how to value law enforcement, in
Douglas County and the Eighteenth Judicial District, we will continue to
vigorously fight to protect those who protect us.”
20
th Judicial District Attorney Stan Garnett stated: “I
am pleased that justice was achieved in this case and that Judge King
imposed an appropriate sentence for this horrific crime spree. I was
also pleased that my office was able to work so collaboratively with
George Brauchler and the 18th JD DA’s office and that our Chief Trial
Deputy Adrian VanNice was able to co-counsel this case. When Public
Safety is at stake, the District Attorneys of Colorado will always join
forces to achieve justice, as we did in this case.”
Twelve law enforcement agencies responded to assist on the day of the
incident. They are as follows: Colorado State Patrol, Longmont Police
Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s
Office, Aurora Police Department, Boulder Police Department, Brighton
Police Department, Broomfield Police Department, Commerce City Police
Department, Denver Police Department, Lone Tree Police Department, and
Parker Police Department.
Colorado State Patrol Chief Colonel Scott Hernandez stated: “The
events of 18 months ago will never be forgotten. Today, however, we can
now truly begin to move past them thanks to those that worked tirelessly
to see that justice was served.”
Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock stated: “I’m proud that with
the cooperation of all involved law enforcement agencies we were able to
take this dangerous criminal down after his metro wide crime spree. I’m
thankful that by the grace of God, he did not injure more citizens or
Officers. I want to express my gratitude to the media who broadcasted
Stone’s location to help us locate and apprehend him, the hard work and
persistence of the Investigators, as well as the District Attorney’s
Office who brought him to justice.”
Longmont Police Department Commander Jeffrey M. Satur stated: “The
Longmont Police Department would like to thank all the officers who
risked their safety to help recover the abducted four-year-old child and
apprehend Ryan Stone. We know this would not have been possible without
the tremendous support of the helicopter news crew. Their continuous
presence helped keep the suspect and child under a watchful eye. We also
want to recognize the great work of the Prosecutors from the Douglas
County and Boulder County District Attorney’s Office.”
The Honorable Paul King presided over this case.
Video of the Sentencing Hearing and Defendant Bragging
Great Job and Thank You to all of our Law Enforcement Officers, District Attorneys and Judge Paul King for removing this blight from our community.
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