Colorado Media Inaccurately Reports Escapee From Our Facility

Arvada Suspect Incorrectly Connected To Jail Escape

Mesa County, Colo. -- Yesterday, Arvada Police (Denver suburb) were called to a scene where they report a Parole Absconder is holding a young teen hostage inside a residential home. A Denver area newspaper self reported the suspect contacted them about 9:20 p.m., February 3, and possibly provided them with his identity and/or claims of criminal history/incidents.

This morning, February 4, our agency became aware that a number of Denver area media outlets were reporting an un-named source who connected the Arvada incident suspect to a jail escape and/or prison escape, reportedly from Mesa County. It is our belief that any charges that originated in Mesa County were brought against the suspect by the Western Region Parole Division, Colorado Department of Corrections. At no time has our agency charged or investigated the Arvada suspect, for anything, and he has never escaped from our jail facility. We have not experienced a jail escape at our facility since 2008.

We are honoring Arvada Police Department by not naming the suspect from their incident. However, various media outlets across the state reported the standoff suspect in Arvada was killed and the teen hostage was released without injury, about 1 p.m., on February 4.

For updates on other incidents across our County, follow us on Twitter @SheriffMesaColo using #GVCopBeat and #MesaCounty.