A 19-year-old man pleaded guilty to impersonating a peace officer and possession of red and blue lights.
According to an arrest affidavit, John D. Feltes drove around County Road 87 near Granby on May 21 asking people if they had seen a 5-year-old boy. The responding officer found female underwear, sex toys and a .22 caliber gun during a search of Feltes’ car.
Feltes was sentenced on Jan. 9 to three years of supervised probation and 30 days in jail. Part of the sentence order included a mental health evaluation and its recommended treatment be completed within two years.
Feltes, who the affidavit says was on probation for a sex crime, was driving a gray Saturn with South Dakota plates in May.
Multiple witnesses in the area described seeing a small gray sedan driven by a man in camouflage and a helmet who was flashing lights in front of his car, the affidavit said.
A woman who had finished running the trail at the top of CR 87 reported a man flashing red and blue lights from his dashboard that tailgated her to the bottom of CR 87.
Another man, who went on a walk with his wife and dog, saw the same vehicle going up and down CR 87. The vehicle followed the couple up the road when Feltes allegedly asked them if they’d seen a 5-year-old boy wearing a blue shirt, who Feltes said had been missing for eight days.
Feltes allegedly told the couple to contact the Grand County Sheriff’s Office if they found the boy.
The officer who responded to these calls spotted Feltes driving back up CR 87.
According to the affidavit, Feltes was wearing a military-style camouflage long sleeve shirt with matching pants, a tan vest, a green military utility belt and tan gloves. The officer saw Feltes remove his helmet.
Feltes told the officer he was in the area playing airsoft. When the officer said that there were reports of him doing something else, Feltes said he was making a joke.
When the officer asked if Feltes had any weapons, Feltes said he had no firearms in the vehicle.
The officer asked Feltes why he was asking people about an 8-year-old boy, and Feltes immediately corrected the officer, saying it was a 5-year-old. Feltes also said he was “fooling around.”
The officer cleared Feltes through dispatch and was told Feltes was on probation for a sex crime. The officer then checked Feltes for weapons and found two knives.
Feltes told the officer that people come to the top of CR 87 and do donuts in their vehicles, so he took it upon himself to stop that. He denied saying that he worked for the Grand County Sheriff’s Office.
Feltes said the 5-year-old boy was made up and that he told people that to try and keep them out of the area. He stated his actions were not a good idea and didn’t know why he mentioned the sheriff’s office and the missing boy.
Another responding officer was able to turn on the red and blue lights on Feltes’ dash. Feltes gave this officer permission to search his utility belt and the officer found .22 caliber ammunition.
Feltes then said there was a .22 caliber gun in the vehicle that the officer retrieved from under the front passenger seat.
While conducting inventory of the vehicle, the officer found a bag “with multiple pairs of female underwear inside, multiple sex toys and ammunition.”
The affidavit stated that because Feltes was on probation for a sex crime and was asking strangers to look out for a 5-year-old boy, the bag of underwear and sex toys were collected as evidence, as was the .22 revolver, ammunition and three knives.
Feltes was taken to the Grand County jail. At the jail, he told the officer that after observing someone drive quickly up CR 87, he “lost his mind” and drove around in his airsoft gear trying to talk to people
Feltes said he turned on the red and blue lights to get a man to talk to him and mentioned again that he lost his mind. He stated that he might be “high due to his diabetes.”
The officer had EMS respond at this time and transported Feltes to Middle Park Medical Center Granby.