Wanted Prison Escapee Assaults Law Officers and Nearly Ignites Disastrous Fire
Trevor Phipps
Wild times have returned to Teller County, in the form of dangerous and bizarre cases that threaten local law officers and residents.
A variety of theories abound for the surge in serious crime activity.
Some speculate that this surge is a byproduct of the increase in traffic due to the warmer weather. Or the lack of snow could be the culprit for more felons and fugitives on the loose from outside the area, wreaking havoc in the Teller high country.
Whatever the reason, a recent double-arrest made by the Teller County Sheriff’s Office could be a sign of what to expect this summer as more people flood into the county, resulting in more criminal events and cases of ultra, bad behavior. The latest arrest occurred following a high-speed chase with speeds that exceeded 90 miles per hour, and a criminal suspect trying to assault law officers with his vehicle and nearly igniting a dangerous fire, following a crash into a power line. On the upside, no fatalities or serious injuries were reported.
The recent incident started when the sheriff’s office received a description of a vehicle that was allegedly involved in a trespassing incident on April 7. Then on April 8 just before 5 p.m., deputies spotted a green Land Rover at a gas station in Divide that matched the description of the trespassing suspect.
Upon further inspection, the deputies also noticed that the vehicle had expired plates and Colorado registration. The deputies followed the vehicle from the gas station to County Road 51 when they confirmed that the Land Rover was indeed the one involved in the trespassing incident the day before.
The deputies then made a traffic stop near the intersection of County Road 51 and County Road 5 just northwest of Divide. The SUV stopped at first, but then when the deputies started approaching the suspect’s vehicle on foot, it quickly sped away.
The Land Rover headed northbound on County Road 51 and started a dangerous chase with the law enforcement officers. According to a press release sent out by the Teller County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect was driving at speeds that exceeded 90 miles-per-hour on the windy mountain road in an attempt to elude the deputies.
During the chase, the suspect’s vehicle was seen swerving over the center, double-yellow lines and nearly hitting oncoming traffic on multiple occasions. At one point during the rather lengthy police chase, the suspect swerved at patrol vehicles and tried to run the deputies off the road.
Eventually, the deputies devised a better method to force the suspect’s vehicle to stop when they decided to deploy stop sticks to disable the suspect’s SUV. The stop sticks were deployed in an area north of Florissant which caused two of the Land Rover’s tires to deflate.
After driving through the stop sticks, the suspect’s vehicle lost traction, spun out of control and railed into a power pole on Crystal Peak Drive near the intersection of Horse Creek Circle. The crash packed enough of a punch to knock down the power pole and cause a fire to ignite from the downed power lines. Luckily, the deputies were able to promptly extinguish the small blaze while on the scene.
Once the vehicle crashed and stopped, the deputies took the driver and passenger of the Land Rover into custody without any incident. The driver was identified as Gordon Hintz, 37, from Colorado Springs.
Hintz was charged with three counts of second-degree assault on a peace officer, four counts of second-degree assault, possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, second degree kidnapping. In addition, many other charges that are still pending.
Suspects Identified as Wanted Criminals
Hintz had quite an extensive record, which may explain why he tried to run from the deputies. Hintz had a warrant out for his arrest for flight and escape from the Colorado Department of Corrections, and two warrants out of El Paso County. He also is currently on probation for marijuana sales and distribution.
The passenger was also arrested on several criminal charges. That person was identified as Paege Bolt, 28, from Colorado Springs. He was in the passenger seat during the police chase and was charged with possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, possession of an illegal weapon, possession of burglary tools, possession of drug paraphernalia and violation of a protection order.
Bolt also has several warrants for his arrest out of El Paso and Douglas Counties. He too is currently on probation for possession of controlled substances.
After the two men were placed into custody, the deputies found a gold mine of illegal contraband. The law enforcement agents seized a pair of brass knuckles, 14 grams of suspected fentanyl, syringes containing an unknown substance, drug paraphernalia, and burglary tools.
Hintz remained in the Teller County Jail at least several days after the chase with a $25,000 bond. Bolt was also still incarcerated as of the newspaper’s deadline. He is being held on a nearly $28,000 bond.
The recent incident marks an uptick of local crimes related to fentanyl and criminals who have had broken the law in the past.
During a recent town hall meeting, Teller County Sheriff Mikesell told the public that serious and dangerous cases, involving people with criminal backgrounds coming from cities on the Front Range and breaking laws in Teller County (like the recent incident), have experienced a big surge in the last few years. He is worried this trend may continue and has continued to lobby for laws that keep “bad guys” locked up longer.
