Armed carjacking suspect arrested after allegedly stealing 3 cars, including Colorado State Patrol car
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misstated the suspect's name. The story has been updated to reflect the correct name.
The suspect in an armed carjacking has been arrested, after police say he stole at least three vehicles Sunday, including an unmarked Colorado State Patrol car.
The chase started Sunday around 8:30 a.m. when the state patrol was asked to assist another agency in pursuit of a stolen car, according to CSP Sgt. Troy Kessler. During the traffic stop, the suspect allegedly stole an unmarked CSP cruiser on Interstate 25 northbound near Highway 119, Kessler said. That car became disabled at some point and the suspect then allegedly stole a Chevy Cruz.
CSP troopers and Longmont police officers lost him in the area of Main Street and 2nd Avenue. They were then alerted to a theft of the Dodge Ram but lost him sometime around 1 p.m., Kessler said. Longmont officers located the suspect about an hour later in a residential neighborhood and arrested him without incident.
The suspect was identified by Colorado State Patrol as David Anthony McGregor, of Longmont. He's facing multiple counts of motor vehicle theft and other charges, CSP said.
RELATED: Suspect steals Colorado State Patrol cruiser, crashes and dies of injuries, CSP says (June 2023)
One witness described the scene at the intersection of Highway 66 and Route 287.
The witness, who asked to only be identified as "Ben," was driving with his girlfriend when they suddenly hit traffic.
His girlfriend took a picture of the scene, not knowing what was happening yet.
He said he saw a car come to a stop in the middle of the intersection and several police cars stopped behind it. Moments later, a man got out of the car and put a gun to his own head, according to Ben. Several officers got closer to him and tried to corral him away from traffic while forming a barrier between the suspect and nearby motorists, many of whom were stuck in traffic now.
Ben said after he saw the gun, what started as curiosity quickly turned into terror.
"It was honestly just fear. It started off with curiosity ... but we realized very quickly how serious it was," he said. "We felt trapped because there was a car in front of us, a car behind us, cars all around. What do you do in this situation?"
Around 2:45 p.m., CSP confirmed that the suspect was arrested, but few other details were immediately available.
One Longmont man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he had just gotten home from Denver when he saw police cars lined up on his block.
His mother said she witnessed part of the chase earlier in the day and thought it might be related. He saw a man with face tattoos and maroon shorts and felt confident it was the same man.
"I said, 'look, this guy is here! He's right by my house!' That's when I started recording," he told CBS News Colorado. "I had my children and I knew he was a runner, so if this guy wants to run from the cops, I told my wife 'just run inside the house,' because he was right there."
His mother, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that not only was the suspect arrested outside of her home, she was at the Murphy Express gas station when he fled officers on foot.
"I was putting gas in and all of a sudden I see all the police and I heard them yelling, 'put down the gun!' It freaked me out more. He had a gun against his head. He was walking backward toward the gas station and when I saw him turn around and start running and the police run after him, I just put the gas pump back, got in my car and locked the door," she said. "I think he went through the gas station and ran out another side."
She shared videos from the gas station and her home security system of the suspect at each location.
"I have a camera at my house. I saw all the cops and everything and then my son sent me video and I thought 'oh my god!' I was shook up. I was crying the whole morning," she said. "When I saw all the cops and saw what he was wearing, I said 'that's him!'"
This is at least the second time a CSP car was stolen this year. The first one, in June, turned deadly after a man was accused of shooting at deputies and troopers. He was arrested but while in the backseat of a CSP cruiser, he was able to get into the front seat and led law enforcement on a chase that ended when he crashed into a semi-truck.
