Steven Valdez : “Colorado Man in Custody: Damages Police Cars in Escape Attempt”

TRINIDAD, Colo. (KKTV) – In a dramatic turn of events, a notorious fugitive, Steven Valdez, found himself facing a litany of charges after his desperate attempt to evade arrest led to a series of collisions with police patrol cars. The incident took place in Trinidad, a quaint town in Colorado.

According to the Trinidad Police Department, Valdez had been on the run from three different law enforcement agencies. His luck ran out on February 8 when he was spotted within the city limits of Trinidad.

Trinidad police officers were informed about Valdez’s presence in town, along with the alarming news that he had four active felony warrants against him. Acting swiftly, the authorities tracked down a close acquaintance of Valdez’s, locating him in the parking lot of the Quality Inn.

As one officer engaged in conversation with the acquaintance, another officer decided to inspect the suspect’s pickup truck. Peering through the heavily tinted windows, the officer made a startling discovery – a person concealed beneath a mound of clothing in the passenger seat.

Promptly, the officers ordered the concealed individual to exit the vehicle. However, instead of complying, the suspect, later identified as Valdez, defied their commands and quickly seized the opportunity to jump into the driver’s seat. In a bid to escape, he recklessly reversed the pickup truck, directly colliding with a patrol car assigned to a K-9 officer.

Undeterred, Valdez shifted gears and accelerated, crashing into a nearby building. Determined to evade capture, he further rammed into another patrol car before striking the K-9 officer’s vehicle once more. The situation escalated rapidly, prompting the officers to request immediate backup.

Additional units swiftly responded to the call, effectively boxing the suspect in and preventing any further attempts to flee the scene. In a desperate final act, Valdez’s truck was cornered against a sturdy tree, effectively immobilizing it.

Despite the officers’ repeated commands to exit the vehicle, Valdez refused to cooperate, resulting in the deployment of a taser and a forceful extraction from the truck. During this tumultuous sequence of events, the keen eyes of the officers noticed the presence of a woman within the truck, whom they promptly rescued from harm’s way.

Valdez’s resistance finally subsided after the deployment of K-9 Crash, allowing the officers to successfully take him into custody. He is currently being held in the Las Animas County Jail on a substantial bond amounting to $66,500.

In addition to the four existing felony warrants, Valdez now faces an array of new charges, including motor vehicle theft, vehicular assault, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, and obstructing a peace officer. These charges reflect the seriousness of his alleged crimes and the potential danger he posed to the community.