Colorado man sentenced to 13 years in prison after police chase that ended at the Outlets at Castle Rock
Police tracked that stolen vehicle from Englewood and, after the driver began his attempted escape, rammed into it head-on in order to stop it. Officers captured the driver shortly after the car went over a median and he got out of his car and tried to run away.
Roy Elliott-Casaus pleaded guilty to several charges, including assault on a peace officer, aggravated motor vehicle theft and vehicular eluding.
23rd Judicial District Attorney's Office Deputy DA Jonathan Steinberg said in a prepared statement that the driver "treated a shopping center like a racetrack."
"Casaus thought he could outrun law enforcement in a stolen car, but crashing into reality, literally, brought his joy ride to an end," Steinberg said.
Elliott-Casaus, 33, is from the southern Colorado city of Trinidad. He is also serving a 6 year prison sentence for a different crime that took place in southern Colorado.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBS News
4 minutes ago
- CBS News
Man charged in Minnesota lawmaker shootings expected to reveal plea in federal hearing
The man charged with killing Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, and wounding a state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, is expected to plead not guilty when he's arraigned in federal court on Thursday, his attorney said. Vance Boelter, 58, of Green Isle, Minnesota, was indicted July 15 on six counts of murder, stalking and firearms violations. The murder charges could carry the federal death penalty, though prosecutors say that decision is several months away. As they announced the indictment, prosecutors released a rambling handwritten letter they say Boelter wrote to FBI Director Kash Patel in which he confessed to the June 14 shootings of Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. However, the letter doesn't make clear why he targeted the Hortmans or the Hoffmans, who survived. Boelter's federal defender, Manny Atwal, said at the time that the weighty charges did not come as a surprise, but she has not commented on the substance of the allegations or any defense strategies. The hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dulce Foster will also serve as a case management conference. She plans to issue a revised schedule with deadlines afterward, potentially including a trial date. Prosecutors have moved to designate the proceedings as a "complex case" so that standard speedy trial requirements won't apply, saying both sides will need plenty of time to review the voluminous evidence. "The investigation of this case arose out of the largest manhunt in Minnesota's history," they wrote. "Accordingly, the discovery to be produced by the government will include a substantial amount of investigative material and reports from more than a dozen different law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels." They said the evidence will include potentially thousands of hours of video footage, tens of thousands of pages of responses to dozens of grand jury subpoenas, and data from numerous electronic devices seized during the investigation. Boelter's motivations remain murky. Friends have described him as an evangelical Christian with politically conservative views who had been struggling to find work. Authorities said Boelter made long lists of politicians in Minnesota and other states — all or mostly Democrats. In a series of cryptic notes to The New York Times through his jail's electronic messaging service, Boelter suggested his actions were partly rooted in the Christian commandment to love one's neighbor. "Because I love my neighbors prior to June 14th I conducted a 2 year long undercover investigation," he wrote. In messages published earlier by the New York Post, Boelter insisted the shootings had nothing to do with his opposition to abortion or his support for President Donald Trump, but he declined to elaborate. "There is little evidence showing why he turned to political violence and extremism," the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Joe Thompson, told reporters last month. He also reiterated that prosecutors consider Hortman's killing a "political assassination." Prosecutors say Boelter was disguised as a police officer and driving a fake squad car early June 14 when he went to the Hoffmans' Champlin home. He shot the senator nine times, and his wife eight times, officials said. Boelter later went to the Hortmans' home in nearby Brooklyn Park and killed both of them, authorities said. Their dog was so gravely injured that he had to be euthanized. Boelter surrendered the next night.
CBS News
4 minutes ago
- CBS News
Pa. Attorney General's Office charges 13 people in luxury vehicle scheme
The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office announced that 13 people have been charged in a luxury vehicle title-washing scheme that was operating out of central Pennsylvania. According to AG Dave Sunday's office, the scheme was led by 44-year-old Anthony Troncoso and sold more than two dozen luxury vehicles that had been stolen from Florida. They would take the titles from the stolen vehicles, fabricate new documents that changed ownership, registration, and insurance information, and sell the vehicles to private buyers as well as to auctions and dealerships. Troncoso is facing nine felonies and six misdemeanors, including felony corrupt organizations, washing vehicle titles, and theft by deception. "This sophisticated criminal organization washed clean high-end vehicles that were stolen in Florida, then sold to unsuspecting buyers," Attorney General Sunday said. "Without the collaboration of numerous law enforcement partners, and the diligence of the grand jurors, this elaborate scheme would not have been unraveled." Title "washing" or "cleaning" involves changing a vehicle's paper trail of attached liens, loans, and registration from another state with fraudulent documentation. According to the AG's office, the incident took place at licensed tag agencies in multiple counties, including Berk, Dauphin, and Lehigh counties. The types of vehicles sold were Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Land Rover, Audi, Lexus, and Infiniti. The sales happened between 2022 and 2023. Other defendants involved in the scheme have roots or reside outside of Pennsylvania, including states such as Florida and California, and even as far as Mexico. Several of the suspects who live in Florida are charged with providing fraudulent documents to obtain Pennsylvania ID cards, which were used in filing papers for the vehicles.
CBS News
4 minutes ago
- CBS News
Video shows flames tearing through Hollywood police SUV as 911 call captures incident
A marked Hollywood Police SUV caught fire early Thursday morning in a Kendale Lakes neighborhood in Southwest Miami-Dade, prompting an emergency response and sparking an investigation into what caused the blaze. The incident happened around 12:02 a.m. near 4500 SW 139 Court, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office. Deputies from the Hammocks district arrived to find the police vehicle engulfed in flames but unoccupied. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) crews responded and were able to extinguish the fire. Video from the scene shows flames shooting through the roof of the cruiser. A 911 dispatch call captured the initial alert: "PD vehicle on fire. Advising a Hollywood PD vehicle. Unknown if it's occupied." No injuries were reported, but investigators said it's still unclear what sparked the fire. Some grass underneath the vehicle was also scorched. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is leading the investigation. Authorities have not said whether nearby vehicles were damaged.
