Allegedly drunk woman heading to rehab arrested driving 125 mph in the opposite direction
A woman accused of driving east up to 125 mph on Interstate 70 going claims she was on her way to California for alcohol addiction treatment.
A Garfield County Sheriff’s Office deputy was stationed near the county line Nov. 8 when dispatch put out a “be on the lookout” alert for a white Honda that had eluded Colorado State Patrol troopers in Mesa County.
At 9:38 a.m., the sheriff’s deputy spotted the Honda and pursued it heading east.
The first radar measurement clocked the Honda going 125 mph, where the speed limit is 75.
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The Honda made several high-speed passes of tractor-trailers and other slower cars, at one point going onto the shoulder, creating dust clouds, and another time driving into the grass median.
Just west of the Rifle exit, officers placed deflation devices, which the Honda contacted. The pursuing sheriff “observed both front tires disintegrate from the wheel.”
The Honda came to a stop at the shoulder, and officers approached. At first, the driver didn’t comply, but eventually she exited the vehicle and told officers she had a dog in the car. The sheriff’s deputy noted she had slurred speech.
In the sheriff’s car, the 33-year-old woman, who smelled strongly of alcohol, told the deputy that she was very sorry and that she was trying to get to California for in-patient treatment for alcohol addiction.
The deputy asked if she knew where she was, and she initially said Utah “but then stated Utah or Colorado,” according to the arrest documents.
A Breathalyzer test measured the driver’s blood alcohol content at 0.219, nearly three times the amount for legal intoxication.
The driver was arrested for a host of traffic and misdemeanor offenses, as well as vehicular eluding, a felony.
Woman assaulted, feared leaving hotel room for a week
A Michigan man accused of holding a Grand Junction woman prisoner at a Parachute hotel room for a week was arrested Nov. 8 and charged with assault.
The alleged victim told police a 52-year-old man took her to a Parachute hotel, and the interaction was consensual. After sexual intercourse, the man’s demeanor changed and he became violent and angry, the woman said.
Court documents describe the woman as fearing for her life, which is why she never told the man no.
Two days before the woman called police, the man allegedly kicked her in the face when she tried to leave.
When the man pushed her out of the hotel room, she decided to call for help. Officers noticed she had two black eyes, and swelling around the face and neck.
Police arrested the man, who claimed he never did anything to hurt the alleged victim. According to the man, she got the black eye from getting drunk and falling down.
The man was arrested on charges of sexual assault, first-degree assault, domestic violence and false imprisonment.
Victim spots alleged attacker on the way to coffee shop
A trip to Starbucks yielded more than coffee for Rifle Police and a stabbing victim.
Around 9:30 p.m. Sept. 23, Rifle Police responded to reports of a stabbing near a Rifle gas station. The victim, who had been living in a nearby tent, reported being threatened by a man with a beard and tattoos on his nose.
The man had threatened to “scalp” him, or “cut his nuts off,” said the alleged victim, a 51-year-old man, according to arrest documents.
The man had blood on his shirt and arms, a bloody nose and superficial cuts on his arms.
At the man’s tent, police found what looked like blood on the flap, and an empty knife sheath in the tent.
The alleged victim was treated at the hospital and released. The following morning, a Rifle Police officer went to check on the man in his tent, who said he was cold because his clothes were taken as evidence. The alleged victim still couldn’t remember the suspected attacker’s name.
The officer asked if there was anything else he could do, and the man said he would like a cup of coffee. The officer offered to drive the man to Starbucks. On the way there, the victim spotted a man walking on the sidewalk and said that was “the person who had attacked him the previous night.”
The officer parked, made contact with the alleged attacker, who admitted to having a fight with the man in his tent. He denied stabbing the man, however, and said he had only punched him.
The man had a knife and surrendered it to the officer, who noticed what appeared to be dried blood on it. Police continued to investigate, and eventually arrested the man for second-degree assault and menacing.
