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Felony warrant issued for man who allegedly smashed gate at Aspen garage

Staff report
Work was being done on Monday morning to repair the access arm to the RIo Grande Parking Garage after someone drove through it, tearing it off, over the weekend.
Carolyn Sackariason/The Aspen Times

Aspen police issued a felony arrest warrant Wednesday for a Denver man who blasted out of the entrance gate to the city’s parking garage early Saturday morning, causing thousands of dollars in damage, a police official said.

The unidentified man, who had not yet been arrested as of Wednesday evening, has been charged with felony criminal mischief after police tracked him down using surveillance video from the parking garage, said Aspen Assistant Police Chief Bill Linn. Police were in touch with the man’s lawyer Wednesday, he said.

“He drove out through the in door … without attempting to stop,” Linn said. “It appeared to be an intentional act.”



Surveillance video showed that the incident occurred at 4:37 a.m. Saturday, when a 2007 Hyundai SUV with Illinois license plates came tearing out of the garage using the entrance lane.

“He pulled down the gate and the control box,” Linn said. “Fortunately we have really good security video (in the parking garage). There wasn’t really any hope of him getting away with this.”




Police soon tracked the license plates to the man who lives in the Denver area. The damage to the gate is estimated at about $7,000, he said.