(CHAFFEE COUNTY, Colo.) — A man is under arrest after law enforcement in Chaffee County used stop sticks to disable a truck connected to an Amber Alert that was issued on Thursday, Sept. 25.
The Amber Alert for 14-year-old Phillip Torres Jr. was issued by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation just after 4 p.m. on Thursday. The alert stated that Phillip was believed to be with his noncustodial father, Phillip Torres, in a grey 2004 Chevrolet Silverado last seen near I-25 and I-70 in Denver. The truck was then spotted in Poncha Springs shortly after 3 p.m.
The Amber Alert was cancelled around 4:40 p.m. on Thursday, and we now know that Phillip Torres was captured in Chaffee County after deputies successfully deployed stop sticks on Torres’ truck.
According to the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), around the time the Amber Alert was issued, its agency as well as the Salida Police Department, had received a Be On The Lookout (BOLO) alert for Torres and his Chevy Silverado. Law enforcement also became aware that an arrest warrant had been issued out of Adams County for Torres on a bond amount of $300,000.
CCSO said deputies were alerted by the Thornton Police Department that the Silverado’s license plate had been captured on a license plate reader in Poncha Springs, and observant citizens of Chaffee County also began calling in reporting the truck to police.
Torres and the truck were located in the Downtown Poncha Springs area, and officers tried to pull the truck over. Torres allegedly refused to stop, and a chase ensued westbound on Highway 50, through Poncha Springs and north on Highway 285, at times exceeding speeds of over 100 miles per hour, CCSO said.
On Hwy 285, a CCSO deputy successfully deployed stop sticks to deflate the truck’s tires, and the truck finally came to a stop just south of the 285 and Highway 291 Junction.
Watch video of the chase coming to an end thanks to the stop sticks (video has no audio):
Torres was taken into custody, and his son was rescued from the truck uninjured. Torres was taken to the Heart of the Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida for precautionary purposes as he complained of minor injuries, but no other injuries or property damage were reported, CCSO said.
Courtesy: Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office
“Law Enforcement related vehicle pursuits are extremely dangerous, not just for the officers involved and the subject being pursued, but for the community. There are certain instances where terminating a pursuit is just not an option, and this was one of those situations,” said Chaffee County Sheriff Andy Rohrich. “The risk to not only the public but to the child in the vehicle was too high to allow a very [dangerous] man like Torres to get away. I was in awe watching our local agencies working together, deploying their high level of training, putting an end to this situation utilizing non-lethal means.”
Courtesy: Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office
Courtesy: Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office
Phillip Torres Jr. was safely reunited with his family, and his father was taken to the Chaffee County Detention Facility, where he is being held on the Adams County warrant along with an additional $5,000 cash bond for additional charges:
Vehicular eluding- creating a substantial risk of bodily injury by operating a vehicle in a reckless manner
Child abuse-knowingly or recklessly where no death or injury occurred
Reckless endangerment
Violation of a criminal protection order
Reckless driving
Speeding-40 or more over the posted speed limit
Driving under restraint
