Westminster – A habitual criminal wanted on outstanding warrants held two women hostage and police at bay in an all-night standoff at a hotel here that ended dramatically near dawn.
The standoff concluded when SWAT officers threw tear gas into the hotel room where police said Gerald Kenneth Jorgensen was barricaded. The suspect responded by firing a shotgun blast that missed officers by mere feet, Westminster police spokeswoman Stephanie Topkoff said.
“They were at the front door, and he shot through the glass window and just narrowly missed them,” Topkoff said.
SWAT teams then blasted open the room’s door and blew another hole into one of the room’s walls, swarmed inside and seized Jorgen sen without further incident.
He had cuts to his head from the blasts and was taken to a hospital for treatment before being booked into Adams County jail, Topkoff said.
Jorgensen is being held on charges including suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer and second-degree kidnapping.
The two women, whose names were not released, were not injured during the ordeal.
The excitement began at about 8 p.m. Monday, when a bounty hunter tracked Jorgensen to the La Quinta Inn near Sheridan Boulevard and U.S. 36. Topkoff said Jorgensen had outstanding warrants for failing to appear for a court date in Adams County and for escape in Denver. Jorgensen also has a lengthy criminal history and has had at least two stays in prison, according to records.
Jorgensen was at the hotel hanging out with the two women, whom Topkoff described as acquaintances. “Then when he discovered the bounty hunters were after him, he then kept the women from leaving,” she said.
Topkoff said the suspect barricaded the hotel room door with a chair. SWAT officers arrived, and the standoff began.
Meanwhile, authorities evacuated about 25 rooms at the hotel and moved the occupants to a nearby La Quinta.
Howard Bell of Tampa, Fla., said his family came back to the hotel and was told they couldn’t go to their room. So they went to a Perkins restaurant across the street before eventually going to the other La Quinta.
“It was just one of those things where we didn’t know if it would end really quickly or if it would take awhile,” Bell said.
After a night of attempted negotiation, officers decided to take more direct action and used the tear gas, Topkoff said.
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
