CC Police Receive Majority of Money Stolen During Casino Heist
Trevor Phipps
Sometimes when people choose to break the law, the after-effects can impact an entire community in a devastating manner. This is what happened recently in the Woodland Park area, with hundreds scrambling to make a cell phone call or to receive a message, as the region got assaulted by a bizarre communications sabotage incident.
This was a first for Teller County, according to local law officers, with an investigation now pending by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
On August 28, a good portion of Woodland Park residents suddenly noticed that their cell phones didn’t have service.
To make matters worse, the cell phone outage caused a disruption in the communications of local emergency services. At first, most thought that the stormy weather must have caused the breech in cell service, until authorities deciphered what exactly happened.
As soon as cell service went down, radio tower service workers promptly arrived at the tower location on top of Gold Hill on the west side of Woodland Park. After inspecting what was wrong with the towers, the radio tower service workers notified police the next morning that the cell service outage was human-caused.
“This morning (Aug. 29), radio service workers reported that on August 28, 2025, at 4:46 PM, an unknown male suspect entered into the fenced property where the tower is positioned and intentionally turned off the power supply to the radio communications tower on the site,” the Woodland Park Police Department stated in a social media post about the incident. “Our reporting party said the suspect moved circuit breakers to the ‘off’ position, disabling the tower and shutting down T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless communications equipment. Based on the investigation, we believe the cellular services were his intended target.”
Police started investigating the incident the next day and worked fast. After their investigation, they apprehended a suspect who they believe was responsible for the vandalism on Aug. 29.
Police arrested 30-year-old Christian Buhr on charges of obstruction of telephone device, first-degree criminal tampering, obstructing governmental operations, and second-degree criminal trespass. At press time, Buhr was still incarcerated in the Teller County Jail with a $1,000 bond.
After the word of what actually happened got out, Buhr instantly became the least favorite person in Woodland Park. Since Verizon and TMobile are the two most popular cell phone services in the region, just about every resident felt the effects in some way. Some residents and business owners were just annoyed with not being able to make calls and text, while others reported that they lost money due to the cell service outages. At press time nearly a week after the incident occurred, many cell phone users were still reporting issues with service.
Once the incident went viral on social media, many residents were outraged about how low of a bond Buhr was assessed. Many contended that the case should be considered a cyber-attack or some form of domestic terrorism.
After receiving many complaints about Buhr’s bond, the police department did respond. The department said that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was notified and that they were interested in the case.
According to the police department, the FCC has joined local authorities in the investigation. This could mean that more charges (possibly federal) could be filed against the suspect.
Money Returned in Casino Theft
The Cripple Creek Police Department have provided a slight update to an earlier story, which appeared previously in TMJ News, regarding the theft of cash from a local casino.
According to earlier reports, On August 18, Andrew Irvine jumped over a cashier counter and made off with handfuls of cash, totaling close to $77,000. After the investigation, police learned that Irvine had attempted a theft at the same casino a month earlier.
Authorities acted quickly and they were able to identify the suspect and locate him the same day of the theft. Irvine was arrested later in the afternoon at his home in Colorado Springs, following the theft, and he is still sitting in Teller County Jail with a $50,000 bond.
In the latest twist to this case, the Cripple Creek Police Department now have confirmed that they have recovered the majority of the stolen money. “On August 25, 2025, investigators recovered $70,550 from the defendant’s attorney, along with various items of clothing that the defendant was wearing during the incidents,” Cripple Creek Police officials stated in a press release.
Police have not commented on what happened to the remainder of the stolen cash. And despite the recovery of the cash, authorities say the case is still under investigation. They are asking the public to contact the Cripple Creek Police Department for any information regarding the incident.
Oddly enough, thefts and robberies of this magnitude in the gaming community are extremely rare. Officials attribute this to the sophisticate surveillance equipment that gaming establishments are now equipped with, and to the vast number of law enforcement agencies that man the gaming community. As one former CC police chief noted, if you mess with Cripple Creek casinos (in a bad way), you will get caught and you will go to jail.
