Littleton – Demetria Helena Soriano, who was granted immunity in exchange for her testimony against a woman accused in the 1997 killing of Denver police officer Bruce VanderJagt, has been arrested after police found a suspected methamphetamine lab at her Littleton home.
Soriano, 31, and Adam Thomas Mills, 28, were arrested Tuesday night in the 900 block of West Peakview Avenue in Littleton.
Littleton police said they found drugs and lab equipment at her home, as well as her two children, ages 2 and 6. The children were medically cleared and turned over to a family member, police said.
Officers said they found the meth operation while assisting a bail bondsman who was looking for Mills at Soriano’s home. Mills has a warrant for failing to appear in court on a drug charge, court records show.
Soriano was a high school friend of Lisl Auman, who was later convicted in the death of VanderJagt.
The day that VanderJagt was killed, Soriano and Auman set out to get Auman’s personal belongings from a former boyfriend’s home. The women took Soriano’s then-boyfriend and two of his friends to help them.
As the five left the ex-boyfriend’s home, a neighbor called police to report a burglary, and officers gave chase.
The chase ended outside Soriano’s apartment, and one of the men involved in the burglary – Mattheaus Jaehnig – shot and killed VanderJagt and then himself. Auman was handcuffed in the back of a police car at the time of the shooting, but was convicted of felony murder and burglary.
Soriano testified for the prosecution at Auman’s trial. She pleaded guilty to burglary in the case and received two years of probation.
Auman’s conviction was later overturned. She was freed from a halfway house last year after pleading guilty to second-degree burglary and accessory to murder charges.
Tuesday night, Soriano was booked into the Arapahoe County Jail on suspicion of possessing and manufacturing methamphetamine.
Staff writer Felisa Cardona can be reached at 303-954-1219 or fcardona@denverpost.com.
