At least one woman was arrested Monday night after a brief standoff with police in west Durango, where three people are suspected of trespassing into a vacant house.
Police responded at about 4:45 p.m. to the 21000 block of U.S. Highway 160, where someone reported a garage door and a sliding glass door open on a vacant house, said Cmdr. Jacob Dunlop, with the Durango Police Department.
When police arrived, they found a woman outside “where she shouldn’t have been,” he said. Officers drew firearms as a safety precaution and detained the woman.
Police saw movement inside the house, and surrounded it. After officers were in place, they attempted to use a loud speaker to communicate with the occupant(s). They also lit up the house with flood lights.
“They weren’t sure if anybody else was in the house, and for officer safety, obviously, you don’t go into a house without having a better idea of what’s going on,” Dunlop said.
A second woman was detained, as was a man seen walking nearby but away from the house, Dunlop said.
“My understanding is they were actually being pretty cooperative,” he said.
It is possible all three are homeless and were looking for a place to stay, he said.
“It’s my understanding that the people that were inside the residence may not have other residences inside the community,” he said.
A 22-year-old woman was arrested on a statewide arrest warrant, he said. Dunlop did not immediately know if the other two suspects will be charged, and if so, what charges they will face.
shane@durangoherald.com