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Standoff near Glenwood ends with surrender

Heather McGregor and John Colson
Post Independent
Aspen, CO Colorado
Craig Dance
ALL |

GLENWOOD SPRINGS – A resident of the Westbank subdivision surrendered to law enforcement authorities about three hours after firing shots at a deputy who came to check on the man.

Craig Dance, 61, was booked into the Garfield County Jail on Monday evening, according to Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario.

Dance appears on several business-listing websites as a residential homebuilder with an office at 225 Westbank Road, the location where the incident occurred.



The incident began Monday afternoon when Dance reportedly placed a phone call to a local resident and said, “I’m a bloody mess.” The resident called the Sheriff’s Department to ask deputies to go to the home and check on Dance.

The deputy arrived at the home around 4:10 p.m. and knocked on the door. Dance met the deputy at the door and within a few moments fired several rounds, Vallario said.




“The deputy took cover behind his vehicle,” Valario said, and at least two bullets struck the patrol cruiser.

The deputy wasn’t hit, and Dance remained in the home. Additional law enforcement officers raced to the subdivision, which is built around a golf course south of Glenwood Springs.

Authorities blocked the entrance to the subdivision, not allowing residents who were returning from work to go to their homes. Some residents in neighboring homes were evacuated, but most were asked to stay in their homes.

As a further precaution, the Sheriff’s Department asked all residents of Westbank Road to take shelter inside their homes away from windows.

Amy Larsen was among the Westbank residents waiting at the roadblock. Her teenage daughter had gone home sick earlier in the day and was alone in their home several blocks away from Dance’s home.

“I told her to make sure all the doors are locked and she is locked in. … I’ve got to tell you, I said a prayer. I think she is going to be OK. I have faith in what these guys are doing,” Larsen said, watching law enforcement officers working the scene.

Once it became clear that Dance had barricaded himself in the home, deputies called for the Garfield County All Hazards Response Team and crisis negotiators to come to the scene. Deputies also arrived in the Sheriff’s Department’s armored Bearcat vehicle.

Officers from the Glenwood Springs Police Department, Carbondale Police Department and Colorado State Patrol arrived to assist.

Trained negotiators, including Silt Police Chief Levy Burris, arrived by 6 p.m. and entered the darkened subdivision in the crisis-negotiations van. Other officers arriving in a Rifle Police Department vehicle were fully outfitted in camouflage clothing.

Officers surrounded the house, keeping a steady eye on all the doors and windows.

At 6:45 p.m., an officer communicating on the radio reported seeing movement through the bay window of the house.

Vallario said that once the crisis-negotiation team was set up, it telephoned to the house to speak with Dance. After talking for about two minutes, Dance agreed to surrender peacefully and emerged from the house.

At 7:15 p.m., McGinnis reported that Dance was in custody.

As Dance was being driven out of the subdivision by authorities, another Westbank resident waiting at the roadblock said she recognized him as a neighbor, describing him as a recluse who rarely was seen outside the home.

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