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Honda Accords targeted in couple’s Colorado car-theft spree

Summit County Sheriffs officers, area police and Colorado Springs police worked to recover two stolen vehicles and detain two suspects following a series of car thefts last week.
File Photo |

Colorado Springs police detained a 27-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman from Kansas, following a series of car thefts that stretched between the Front Range and Summit County.

Around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, several law enforcement vehicles followed an old, dark green Honda Accord that was speeding over the rocks and ravines of Middle Fork Swan Road, a four-wheel-drive trail east of Breckenridge.

“We were driving slow (between 5 and 10 mph). Speeding toward us was an old Honda Accord driving between 25 and 30 mph,” said Scott Inglis, who was off-roading when he spotted the car. “A few minutes later, a Summit County (sheriff’s deputy) was driving toward us in an SUV. He pulled over to let us pass. I rolled down my window to talk to him, but he looked straight ahead and continued driving forward. We wondered if he could be chasing the Honda.”



He spotted six SUVs, a pick-up truck with an ATV in the back and other law enforcement vehicles in pursuit of the car.

Colorado Springs police reported that the ’93 Honda Accord was stolen the night of July 3, before it was found two days later near Breckenridge.



“It is the most popular vehicle to be stolen. It’s just because they’re so easy to steal, the ’90s models,” said Ian Martinez with the Colorado Springs Police Department. “You can just use a screwdriver to start them.”

Summit County undersheriff Derek Woodman said that police found the stolen vehicle Sunday night, when it was high-centered in one of the drainage ditches cutting through the four-wheel-drive road.

He confirmed that the two had manipulated the vehicle to get the engine to start. Multiple law enforcement agencies throughout the county responded to the incident.

“Our pursuit policy prohibits pursuing for anything other than a crime of violence. So we backed off and followed in one of our four-wheel-drive vehicles,” Woodman said. “They ran from us, abandoned the vehicle and took off on foot up the end of Tiger Road.”

Breckenridge police were able to locate the owners of the vehicle in Colorado Springs.

But, the two alleged thieves were not contacted that night. Just a day later, a similar vehicle was reported stolen out of Frisco — a brown, ’96 Honda Accord.

“It is an easier vehicle to steal, and I think that once you figure it out, it makes it easier for you to steal it the second time,” Woodman added.

The missing car was not recovered until Wednesday, July 8, when Colorado Springs police found the Accord around 8 p.m.

“They were just doing a patrol in the area and located the two individuals who ran from them,” Martinez said. “They detained them and put them in custody.”

The two were booked into the criminal justice center for an outstanding arrest warrant from Kansas for auto theft. A full investigation of the incident is underway.

Woodman added that vehicle theft in Summit County is relatively uncommon.

“We’ll end up with the little spurt on occasion,” he said. “But, a genuine stolen vehicle, such as this, is pretty rare.”


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