Mailbox Explosion and Armed Robbery Part of the Mix for Recent Crime Activity
Trevor Phipps
So much for an uneventful start to the New Year in Teller County.
With the start of 2024, the Teller County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) opened a rare investigation into a mailbox explosion that involved a spree of other agencies.
Law enforcement activity was actually quite quiet for the last few months in Teller County. But that scenario changed with a recent incident that sparked a massive investigation involving a southern Colorado bomb squad and federal postal service investigators.
After receiving a frightening 911 call of an explosion on January 4 at around 5:30 p.m., deputies responded to the area and discovered the aftermath of a targeted and devastated mail parcel box that holds postal items for a number of residents at the intersection of Teller 11 and High Chateau Road, just west of Evergreen Station and south of Florissant.
When the deputies arrived on scene, they noticed that four mailboxes, used to house oversized parcels, were destroyed by what appeared to be an unknown explosive device. After examining the damage, a Teller County Sheriff Office detective, assisted by the Metro Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit of El Paso County, launched an investigation into the incident, which is still ongoing.
“There is no danger to the community currently, however: community members are reminded to remain vigilant for suspicious activity in and around mailbox banks and report such activity immediately to the Teller County Sheriff’s Office,” a press release issued by the agency stated.
The United States Postal Inspectors were notified and briefed before joining the investigation. The initial press release stated that it is not believed that the explosion was associated with a parcel delivery.
However, according to TCSO Public Information Officer Lieutenant Renee Bunting, the investigators have not said whether or not the explosion originated from a package or piece of mail that was delivered to the mailbox. Bunting said that there were no eyewitnesses to the incident, and that the initial call reported hearing a loud sound created by the explosion.
After getting the call, the deputies searched for where the sound may have come from. That is when they found the destroyed mailboxes. So far, there has been no information released surrounding what type of bomb was detonated, or anything regarding what caused the explosion that damaged the mailboxes.
Bunting said that there is no new information being released. She stressed that federal postal investigators are now leading the investigation. At the same time, Bunting, made it clear that causing damage to a mailbox is a serious federal crime, since all parcel boxes are property of the U.S. Postal Service.
Suspected Felon Arrested For Armed Robbery Following Extensive Manhunt
Through the cooperative work of several local law enforcement agencies in the Teller County area, the first major crime case of the year ended on a good note.
As a result, a reported dangerous felon parolee and suspect, accused of previous crimes, ending up behind bars early last week, following an extensive manhunt and chase in blistering cold temperatures.
During the weekend after New Year’s Day, police responded to a call informing them of an armed robbery, which took place inside a Woodland Park business. This marked another rare criminal incident to start the 2024 new year.
On Jan. 6 just before 9 p.m., Woodland Park Police received a report of an armed robbery at the Microtel Inn and Suites located at 722 Country Drive on the west side of the city. According to a press release sent out by Woodland Park Police Chief Chris Deisler, the day after the reported incident, a hotel employee said that a white man wearing a ski mask, an Amazon uniform and carrying an orange bag, entered the lobby of the hotel.
Once the man got up to the hotel’s front desk, he reportedly pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at the hotel employee. The suspect demanded cash from the employee and left with an undisclosed amount of money. Nobody was injured during the robbery.
Further investigation of the robbery revealed that the suspect arrived at the scene and left after the robbery in a vehicle. According to Chief Deisler, it was difficult to tell if the suspect was driving the vehicle or if he was a passenger, but the investigators believe that there was only one suspect involved in the crime.
The next day investigators got a lead of who the suspect could be, and learned that he was wanted for committing other crimes across the southern Colorado region. Then on Jan. 8 at around 10 a.m. the Teller County Sheriff’s Office was called to assist the Cripple Creek Police Department to locate the suspect.
The suspect was then spotted at the Double Eagle Casino in Cripple Creek at around 11 a.m. prompting officers from the Colorado Division of Gaming and Cripple Creek Police Department to attempt to contact the individual as he and his silver Jeep Grand Cherokee were seen leaving the casino’s parking garage.
The suspect used his vehicle to ram police cars from both the Division of Gaming and Cripple Creek Police Department. No police officers were injured during the incident, but the suspect was able to get away from the officers.
At around 1 p.m., authorities found the suspect’s vehicle parked on a private driveway off of Hwy. 67, a couple of miles north of Cripple Creek. Sheriff deputies then turned the manhunt to a foot chase when they tracked the suspect for several miles through rough terrain and deep snow.
At around 5 p.m., police located 38-year-old Kyle Jamison and took him into custody. Authorities then transported Jamison to a hospital to get treated for hypothermia.
Jamison was booked into Teller County Jail at about 8 p.m. that night with a $230,000 bond and is now facing multiple felony charges including armed robbery. Jamison was wanted for several felony warrants out of Colorado Springs and he was on parole at the time he committed the crimes.
