A man accused of breaking into Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman’s home and stealing a gun and other items is behind bars in Iowa awaiting extradition to Denver.
Peter Lewis, 20, of Denver was arrested by Polk County sheriff’s deputies Dec. 23 in Des Moines, near where his mother had recently moved from Denver.
Authorities said he has agreed to be extradited and is waiting to be transferred back to Denver.
Lewis is accused of burglarizing Whitman’s Hampden Heights home Nov. 8. Taken from the home were an older .38-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol, a laptop computer, a Blackberry cellphone, two electric guitars and about $200 in coins kept in a 5-gallon water jug, according to an arrest warrant issued by the Denver district attorney’s office.
Whitman, who hasn’t recovered any of the stolen items, said Thursday that he saw the suspect about three days before the robbery as the chief was walking out of his house to his police cruiser.
“I waved hello to him, so he must have known whose house it was,” Whitman said. “I can’t figure that one out.”
The Police Department’s crime lab lifted a fingerprint off the water jug that matched Lewis’, which became the basis for seeking an arrest warrant.
Lewis, whose last known address was a few blocks from Whitman’s home, has an arrest record, including counts of domestic violence, trespassing and possession of marijuana.
Staff writer Mike McPhee can be reached at 303-820-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com.
