The lesson for three Colorado Springs residents may be, “Don’t underestimate the police in a small town.”
On Tuesday evening, William David Delong, 30, Michael Patrick Sheehan, 22, and Samantha Lee Arnold, 23, were arrested on suspicion of going on a theft spree that included a firearm, a credit card and vehicles.
“One of them had family here, and they came to visit,” said Lt. Ray Shupe with the Durango Police Department. “Apparently, they came to town and just started stealing stuff.”
Law enforcement began receiving reports Monday from victims who had discovered items missing from their unlocked vehicles, including one person who had a credit card stolen. Once officers learned the credit card had been used to withdraw cash from an ATM, the video and still photographs from the machine allowed them to identify a vehicle the suspects were driving and see one of the suspects’ faces.
The suspects arrived in a car reported stolen in Colorado Springs; it had temporary tags attached that had been reported stolen in Durango, police said. They also are accused of stealing a second vehicle in Durango along with a firearm.
“It was kind of funny – an officer was taking the report on the stolen vehicle from Durango while they were being arrested,” Shupe said. “This quick action was possible because one of the victims helped a lot, and there was good work on the part of everyone involved, including getting the photos out quickly.”
Sheehan had a .40-caliber handgun on his person at the time of his arrest, and officers discovered the stolen weapon when searching the suspects’ vehicle Wednesday morning, Shupe said. All three were taken into custody without incident.
The trio were being held at the La Plata County jail on $10,000 bail each. Sheehan and Delong were being held on suspicion of possession of a weapon by a previous offender, and all three are charged with identity theft, theft under $20,000, criminal trespass, aggravated motor vehicle theft and criminal possession of a financial transaction device.
Police believe there may be more victims. People who believe they may be victims or who have information about these crimes are asked to call Detective Brad Roach at 375-4738.
abutler@durangoherald.com
