6 days ago
Colorado man arrested, accused of kidnapping, sexual assault, more after nearly 30-mile chase
A Fort Collins man was arrested after allegedly leading deputies on a chase that spanned several Colorado communities. The chase stemmed from an alleged carjacking, kidnapping, and sexual assault of a woman.
Shane McSwane, 28, of Fort Collins, is accused of carjacking a woman in Aurora late Sunday night and taking that car 140 miles south to Colorado City to rob a Circle K. The woman's mother called the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office and told dispatchers her daughter was kidnapped and that her cell phone's location could be tracked.
A deputy on Interstate 25 saw the vehicle going northbound near Pueblo Boulevard and tried to stop McSwane, who turned around and fled southbound in a "dangerous high-speed pursuit" on I-25, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, before entering Huerfano County, allegedly crossing the highway median several times.
Huerfano County deputies deployed spike strips onto the highway, which popped the tires, but McSwane continued for a few more miles, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, whose deputies eventually performed a PIT maneuver as Huerfano County deputies boxed the vehicle in.
A map shows the route a kidnapping, robbery, and sexual assault suspect took while he allegedly committed a string of crimes down Colorado's Front Range.
CBS
Deputies stopped the car near Walsenburg and got McSwane out at gunpoint and taken into custody without further incident, according to the sheriff's office.
The woman, who was uninjured, told deputies she was carjacked in Aurora about four hours earlier after McSwane allegedly forced himself into her car, threatened her, and, while driving, touched her inappropriately and made her touch him as well.
She went on to tell investigators that McSwane threatened to shoot a gas station clerk in Colorado City if she didn't give him a lighter. That clerk was also uninjured.
Shane McSwane
Pueblo County Sheriff's Office
McSwane now faces charges of second-degree kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery, unlawful sexual contact, second-degree motor vehicle theft, two counts of menacing with a deadly weapon, felony vehicular eluding, reckless driving, and driving under restraint and could face additional charges, the sheriff's office said.
"I want to commend our deputies as well as the Huerfano County Sheriff's Office for their swift, professional, and courageous actions during this highly dangerous situation. Their decisive response saved this victim's life," Pueblo County Sheriff David J. Lucero said in a statement. "We are thankful this ended without harm to the victim and the public."
McSwane was booked into the Pueblo County Jail and is due in court Tuesday afternoon.
Court records show he has a criminal history going back to 2010 for charges including drugs, escape from custody, theft, domestic violence, public indecency, harassment, and more in Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, El Paso, Jefferson, Larimer, and now Pueblo counties.
