YOUR AD HERE »

Steamboat police seize 13 guns as officers charge local man with felony stalking

Staff Report
Steamboat Pilot & Today

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Steamboat Springs police arrested a Steamboat man on felony charges and seized 13 guns on Wednesday, July 13, according to Police Chief Sherry Burlingame.

The Steamboat Springs Police Department reported confiscating four AR-15s, seven handguns and two shotguns, as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition and more than 100 fully loaded handgun and rifle magazines.

“That guy could have done some damage,” said Burlingame. “If opportunity and means came together at the same time.”



The department worked alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Secret Service following numerous alleged threats made against friends, family members, politicians and law enforcement.

The investigation led to a search warrant being issued, followed by the seizure of evidence and a felony arrest of the individual on six counts of stalking.



“We take a lot of threat cases and a lot of harassing cases,” said Burlingame. “But most of those aren’t threatening people’s lives to the level that this individual was.”

Burlingame said SSPD officers knew the man had many firearms at his residence, so they were reluctant to approach him at his home. She added the individual was previously in the military, had experience with firearms and had clearly been collecting them for some time.

“We knew a location that he would be at,” said Burlingame. “So we just conducted some surveillance, and when we saw him, we were able to take him off (the streets) in a manner that was safe for our community and our officers.”

Officers seized a few 30-round magazines, which are currently illegal in the state of Colorado. However, according to Burlingame, the individual acquired them prior to the law going into effect, so they were legally grandfathered in. She added that, to her knowledge, none of the firearms were acquired illegally.

The evidence lab will inventory, document and package the items as part of the investigation and court case. The case is ongoing and bail has been set at $25,000 for the individual who was arrested. Citing the ongoing investigation, police declined to release the individual’s name.

“If you feel someone can be a danger to the community, the Steamboat Springs Police Department will investigate it and take action should the matter warrant such as in this case,” said Sgt. Sam Silva in the news release, who was a detective in the case and was a part of the arrest team. “We take these situations very seriously and will act swiftly.”

This story is from SteamboatPilot.com.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.