A Denver Sheriff Department deputy is accused of stalking and harassing an 18-year-old woman he met on Snapchat, including slashing her tire, following her home from work and threatening her and her family, according to an arrest affidavit.
Cristian DeAnda, 25, was arrested in the early hours of April 23 after Firestone Police Department officers found him driving erratically near the teen’s apartment, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police started investigating on April 21 after the teen’s mother called 911 about her daughter being harassed.
The teen told police she met DeAnda on Snapchat and they briefly went out earlier in April before she broke it off, which is when he started threatening her.
DeAnda started showing up unannounced, leaving notes on her vehicle and sending her threats, including pictures of a gun, according to the affidavit.
He followed her home from work several times and slashed her tire with a knife, later sending the teen a picture of the knife with the caption “my fav pocket knife.”
The victim’s family told police that as the harassment escalated, DeAnda tapped on the teen’s window four nights in a row and left flowers on her porch.
In messages shared with police, DeAnda warned the woman she “better stay home 24/7” and that her brother was his first target.
“Little by little I’ll whittle (your) life apart,” DeAnda wrote in one message.
At around 12:05 a.m. on April 23, the victim’s mother called police because DeAnda was outside her daughter’s apartment, where she was keeping watch. DeAnda quickly left the area after she confronted him, but officers saw him walking near an extended stay motel before he got in his car and speed away.
Police pulled DeAnda over and arrested him on suspicion of menacing and stalking, both felonies, as well as misdemeanor harassment, criminal mischief and domestic violence.
DeAnda was hired at the sheriff’s department in 2023 and worked at the Downtown Detention Center. He was placed on investigatory leave after his arrest, sheriff’s officials said.
Updated 12:40 p.m. May 6, 2025: Due to incorrect information from a source, a previous version of this story misspelled the first name of the Denver deputy who was arrested.
