An alert Denver police officer spotted a man suspected of fleeing Westminster police and arrested the suspect, who had kidnapped a Denver woman and stole her vehicle in an attempt to further elude officers.
In Westminster, at about 3 p.m. Thursday, a man burst into an aquatic pet store near the intersection of West 72nd Avenue and Federal Boulevard, grabbed a cash register and bolted from the business, said Kate Kazell, a Westminster Police Department spokeswoman.
The grab and dash robbery was quickly reported and a nearby Westminster police officer spotted the vehicle fleeing and pursued it, Kazell said.
The Westminster officer followed the vehicle into Denver to West 48th Avenue and Tejon Street. Denver police joined in and took over when the suspect fled on foot and vanished, only to be spotted in traffic several minutes later.
The incident escalated in Denver, with frightening moments for a woman who was forced from her home, said Doug Schepman, a Denver Police Department spokesman.
After fleeing on foot, the suspect allegedly entered a nearby home, in the 2100 block of West Elk Place, and forced a resident, a woman, from the home and into her vehicle “in an attempt to drive him from the area,” Schepman said.
At about 3:20 p.m. a Denver officer spotted the suspect, in the stolen vehicle with the kidnapped woman, and matched him to descriptions that were aired over the police radio.
The vehicle was stopped and the suspect was arrested without further incident, Schepman.
The woman was not physically harmed, Schepman said, but was “shaken up.”
Schepman could not say whether the suspect was armed.
The man remained in custody Thursday night and could face multiple charges in Denver, as well as in Westminster.
No one was injured in the fish store.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson@denverpost.com or @kierannicholson
