A couple caught with thousands of stolen credit cards, guns and television sets stolen across Colorado each face 19 felony charges, authorities say.
Lakewood police believe the 19 charges are just the beginning, said department spokesman Steve Davis.
Michael Robert Chard, 30, and his girlfriend, Brandy P. Dippel, 32, may have committed hundreds of crimes from Grand Junction to Denver, he said.
The couple face charges including theft by receiving, motor-vehicle theft, possession of a firearm by a previous offender and identity theft, Davis said.
Lakewood detectives started investigating the couple Jan. 6 when they received a tip from Greenwood Village police about a suspect using a stolen credit card. They tracked the suspect to a home on West Dartmouth Avenue and started doing surveillance, Davis said.
Police arrested Chard and Dippel that day. At the time, Chard was carrying a handgun, Davis said.
The pair had in their possession and in a storage locker thousands of stolen items, including two vehicles, bikes, stereo equipment, credit cards and guns, he said.
Lakewood detectives have identified at least 130 victims living in Colorado Springs, the Denver metro area, Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction, Davis said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
