{"id":1317473,"date":"2019-12-31T13:43:15","date_gmt":"2019-12-31T20:43:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/?p=992115"},"modified":"2019-12-31T13:43:15","modified_gmt":"2019-12-31T20:43:15","slug":"crime-briefs-man-drinks-then-drives-into-rifle-midland-building-barbecue-grill-theft-lands-man-in-jail-on-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/crime-briefs-man-drinks-then-drives-into-rifle-midland-building-barbecue-grill-theft-lands-man-in-jail-on-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Crime Briefs: Man drinks then drives into Rifle Midland building; barbecue grill theft lands man in jail on Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Post<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

DRUNK DRIVER TAKES OUT MIDLAND BUILDING PILLARS<\/strong><\/p>\n

An apparently intoxicated driver crashed into the iconic pillars of the Midland Building on Sunday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt appears based on the evidence that he drove west on East Third Street, he hit a \u2018no parking\u2019 sign, and swerved, and his truck struck the building,\u201d Rifle Police Chief Tommy Klein said.<\/p>\n

The suspect, a 23-year-old man, began driving away from the scene but didn\u2019t make it far before a police officer spotted him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe officer said there were significant sparks coming out of the back of the truck,\u201d Klein said. One of the truck\u2019s front tires was \u201cperpendicular to the roadway,\u201d Klein added.<\/p>\n

The driver exhibited clear signs of intoxication. He was booked in the Garfield County Jail, and faces misdemeanor charges including careless driving, accident involving damage, and obstructing government operations, as well as driving under the influence.<\/p>\n

Klein said he hopes the pillars of the building can be repaired.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe posts on that building are iconic. They\u2019re part of Rifle\u2019s history, and it\u2019s a shame that they were destroyed,\u201d Klein said.<\/p>\n

CHRISTMAS DAY BARBECUE GRILL THEFT<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Christmas Day, at approximately 3:14 p.m., the Garfield County Sheriff\u2019s Office was advised of a man breaking into a vehicle near the Rifle Garfield County Airport. <\/p>\n

According to the arrest affidavit, a truck driver passed a broken-down silver sedan that was red-tagged for towing after striking a deer.<\/p>\n

However, on the truck driver\u2019s way back, he noticed a man wearing a black ball cap, white hoodie and a black jacket appearing to break into the silver sedan. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe driver\u2019s side window had been broken out,\u201d according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n

The man was \u201cwas wearing black rubber gloves that would have protected his hands,\u201d the affidavit also stated.<\/p>\n

When a deputy arrived on scene, the 34-year-old man claimed he was just \u201ctaking some stuff\u201d from the vehicle before it was towed.<\/p>\n

The suspect also claimed he had permission to remove the items because his friend \u201ctold him he could.\u201d<\/p>\n

The man could not provide his friend\u2019s full name or contact information. <\/p>\n

According to the affidavit, the man was attempting to remove a barbecue grill located inside of the broken-down vehicle.<\/p>\n

Through further investigation, the actual owner of the car was contacted and reported the window was intact when the vehicle was left for towing.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the owner confirmed having no idea who the 34-year-old male suspect was. <\/p>\n

The man was placed under arrest and while searching him, deputies located what appeared to be illegal narcotics.<\/p>\n

The man was booked into the Garfield County Jail and charged with the following: possession of a schedule II controlled substance, possession with intent to distribute a schedule II controlled substance, criminal mischief, first degree criminal trespass, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft.<\/p>\n

\u2018IS IT TOO LATE TO TELL YOU THAT\u2019S ME?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Dec. 29, shortly before 1 a.m., an officer with the Silt Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle with an unreadable license plate. <\/p>\n

Upon contacting the 34-year-old female driver, the officer noticed an open alcohol container inside the vehicle too. <\/p>\n

According to the arrest affidavit, the woman did not have a valid driver\u2019s license or proof of insurance and provided the officer with what was later revealed to be a fictitious name.<\/p>\n

While searching the vehicle\u2019s glove compartment, the officer located a piece of paper with a name on it.<\/p>\n

At first, the driver claimed that was not her name.<\/p>\n

However, a short while later the female asked the officer \u201cis it too late to tell you that\u2019s me?\u201d <\/p>\n

The female suspect was arrested and lodged into the Garfield County Jail and charged with the following: criminal impersonation, possession of drug paraphernalia, vehicle number plates not clearly legible, compulsory insurance, driving while under restraint and having an open alcohol container in a motor vehicle.<\/p>\n

mabennett@postindependent.com<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n

Glenwood Springs Post Independent reporter Thomas Phippen contributed to this report. <\/em><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DRUNK DRIVER TAKES OUT MIDLAND BUILDING PILLARS An apparently intoxicated driver crashed into the iconic pillars of the Midland Building on Sunday morning. \u201cIt appears based on the evidence that he drove west on East Third Street, he hit a \u2018no parking\u2019 sign, and swerved, and his truck struck the building,\u201d Rifle Police Chief Tommy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1317473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-06 06:57:38","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317473\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}