Abandoned car leads to criminal quartet believed responsible for 98 Denver metro area crimes
Four people arrested for what police called an "extensive criminal enterprise" received sentences for their roles.
Kevin Feathers, the last to be sentenced, got the heaviest penalty. Feathers was convicted of an organized crime and racketeering charge and sentenced to 18 years in state prison.
His sentence was handed down Oct. 24, ending a two-year investigation and prosecution that started when police chased a stolen car and later found it abandoned in November 2020.
Douglas County deputies first noticed the 2017 Kia leaving the area of Castle Pines Parkway and Shoreham Drive at a high rate of speed, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. It was stolen out of Denver and deputies pursued it. Other deputies ahead of the speeding car placed stop-sticks, a tire-deflating device, in the roadway.
The car was later found abandoned near the Interstate 25 and Orchard Road intersection. The evidence found inside it ignited a massive investigation.
Feather, 36, worked with 37-year-old Daniel Satriano, 25-year-old Samantha Sauer, and 28-year-old Nicole Bachler. The group was determined to be behind 98 criminal events which, beginning in November 2019, occurred in Aurora, Denver, Arapahoe County, Arvada, Douglas County, the City of Lone Tree, Englewood, Greenwood Village, Broomfield, Erie, Boulder, Boulder County, and the City of Brighton.
According to DCSO, detectives identified a pattern of behavior: Members of the group would use stolen cars for transportation while breaking into other cars. They primarily sought to steal credit and debit cards that could be in turn used to purchase gift cards, but also took other items and sold them directly for cash.
Investigators were helped by the suspects who digitally documented their efforts with photos of gifts cards they'd purchased and firearms they'd stolen.
The suspects also recorded their efforts to mock public safety alerts which warned citizens to secure their belongings inside locked vehicles.
Feathers is currently housed in the Colorado Department of Corrections's Sterling facility with nine convictions to his name.
An organized crime charge against Satriano was dropped by prosecutors, but he pleaded guilty to six felonies related to stealing or breaking into vehicles. Satriano was sentenced in June. He is imprisoned in Fremont County.
Sauer and Bachler pleaded guilty to racketeering felonies and received six- and eight-year probation terms, respectively. Eight-year community corrections assignments were suspended for both, according to online court records. Prosecutors dropped 58 other charges against Sauer and 79 against Bachler as part of their plea agreements.
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office, Broomfield Police Department, and the 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office collaborated in the investigation of the four.