(TRINIDAD, Colo.) — A man with multiple felony warrants was arrested after officers found him hiding in a pickup truck before he attempted to escape and struck multiple patrol cars including a K9 vehicle, according to the Trinidad Police Department.
Police said on Thursday, Feb. 8 at around 3:20 a.m. officers learned that 34-year-old Steven Valdez, wanted on four felony warrants, was spotted in town. Officers then contacted a known associate of Valdez in the parking lot of a Quality Inn.
While the man was speaking with an officer, police said another officer looked into the heavily tinted windows of a nearby pickup truck and could see a person hiding under a pile of clothes in the passenger seat.
The person, identified as Valdez, was told to exit the vehicle, instead, Valdez climbed into the driver’s seat and backed up at a high speed, hitting a Trinidad Police K9 vehicle. Valdez then tried to drive away but hit the building, another patrol car, and struck the K9 vehicle a second time.
Other officers arrived to pin the truck against a tree to stop him from running. After Valdez was given multiple commands to exit the truck and refused, he was tased by officers and removed. While removing Valdez, officers also spotted a woman in the backseat of the truck, who was safely taken out of the vehicle by officers.
Police said after Valdez was removed from the truck, he was still refusing officers’ commands so police deployed their K9, Crash, and Valdez was placed into custody.
Valdez is being held at the jail on a $66,500 bond and is facing the following charges:
Second Degree Motor Vehicle Theft
Criminal Mischief
Vehicular Assault
Resisting Arrest
Obstructing a Peace Officer
Reckless Endangerment
Reckless Driving
Limitations on Backing
Failure to Appear – warrant out of Pueblo
Failure to Appear – warrant out of Las Animas County
Two Failure to Appear – warrant out of Trinidad

