A Jefferson County man has been charged with 12 counts of attempted first-degree murder after a 17-hour police standoff where he exchanged shots with police.
John Cruz Jr., 40, faces 22 other charges in connection with the July 12 incident on 2500 block of Fenton Street. Those additional charges include four counts of attempted first-degree assault, eight counts of menacing and arson, according to a news release from the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
When police arrived they rescued Cruz’s father and his wife from the house. The father told police that his son was armed with several weapons, the news release said.
The standoff, which included exchanged gunfire, ended at 12:30 a.m. July 13. There were no injuries.
Cruz appeared in court Friday where he was advised of these charges. He is being held at the Jefferson County jail on $500,000 bond. His preliminary hearing has been for Aug. 15.
![[prison 19] Caption: This is Cellhouse 1, Pod A, from ground level inside the Sterling Correctional Facility which is located outside of Sterling, Colorado Thursday afternoon. Photographer: LEW SHERMAN Title: FREELANCE Credit: SPECIAL TO THE POST City: Sterling State: CO Country: USA Date: 19990617 ObjectName: prison 19 Keyword: PUBDATE____1999_06_22](/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20151207__denverpostp1.jpg?w=538 "20151207__denverpost~p1.jpg")
