Fugitive rams Littleton cop car, flees in stolen Lexus
By Kieran Nicholson
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 02/28/2008 12:40:31 PM MST
Police are looking for Angelo Jefferson Gonzales after the car chase. (Littleton Police)
Littleton authorities say a fugitive rammed a police car and then drove down a flight of parking lot steps in a stolen Lexus to escape arrest.
No one was injured in the incident, which happened at about 8 p.m. Wednesday in the 7900 block of South Broadway.
Police saw a man getting into the driver's seat of a Lexus that was reported stolen out of Englewood, said Lt. Mike Broadhead, a Littleton Police Department spokesman.
Officers in marked and unmarked police cars, with emergency lights on, tried to stop the Lexus, Broadhead said, but the driver "rammed" a police car, jumped a sidewalk in front of several businesses and careened down a short flight of stairs to flee.
Officers had chased the Lexus north to the Englewood city limits when a police supervisor called off the chase because excessive speeds and recklessness by the driver of the Lexus endangered the public, Broadhead said.
The stolen Lexus was later abandoned and recovered in Denver.
A Littleton officer at the scene and an independent witness identified the man suspected of driving the Lexus as 22-year-old Angelo Jefferson Gonzalez.
The police officer who said he recognized Gonzalez as the driver has had previous contact with him, Broadhead said.
Gonzalez is wanted in Arapahoe County for escape and contempt of court, Broadhead said.
He has a lengthy arrest record, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, including a one-year prison sentence in 2007 on a drug conviction.
Littleton police say Gonzalez is considered a "high risk" and is "known to possess weapons."
Anyone with information on Gonzalez whereabouts is asked not to contact him themselves but instead to call police at 303 795-3896.
By Kieran Nicholson
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 02/28/2008 12:40:31 PM MST
Police are looking for Angelo Jefferson Gonzales after the car chase. (Littleton Police)
Littleton authorities say a fugitive rammed a police car and then drove down a flight of parking lot steps in a stolen Lexus to escape arrest.
No one was injured in the incident, which happened at about 8 p.m. Wednesday in the 7900 block of South Broadway.
Police saw a man getting into the driver's seat of a Lexus that was reported stolen out of Englewood, said Lt. Mike Broadhead, a Littleton Police Department spokesman.
Officers in marked and unmarked police cars, with emergency lights on, tried to stop the Lexus, Broadhead said, but the driver "rammed" a police car, jumped a sidewalk in front of several businesses and careened down a short flight of stairs to flee.
Officers had chased the Lexus north to the Englewood city limits when a police supervisor called off the chase because excessive speeds and recklessness by the driver of the Lexus endangered the public, Broadhead said.
The stolen Lexus was later abandoned and recovered in Denver.
A Littleton officer at the scene and an independent witness identified the man suspected of driving the Lexus as 22-year-old Angelo Jefferson Gonzalez.
The police officer who said he recognized Gonzalez as the driver has had previous contact with him, Broadhead said.
Gonzalez is wanted in Arapahoe County for escape and contempt of court, Broadhead said.
He has a lengthy arrest record, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, including a one-year prison sentence in 2007 on a drug conviction.
Littleton police say Gonzalez is considered a "high risk" and is "known to possess weapons."
Anyone with information on Gonzalez whereabouts is asked not to contact him themselves but instead to call police at 303 795-3896.
