Multiple vehicles stolen in Lone Tree, two juveniles arrested

BY TAYLER SHAW TSHAW@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Due to a series of thefts in Lone Tree, police are urging residents to remember to remove valuables from their vehicles and to lock their vehicles, garages and homes.

Four vehicles were stolen in Lone Tree from July 19 through July 21, and police believe the same group of suspects is involved in each of these thefts, the city announced Friday.

“At this point, we believe that it’s the same group behind all of those thefts here in Lone Tree,” said Lone Tree Public Information O cer Nate Jones. “We do believe there may be more suspects out there. At this point, we’ve … arrested two, and both are juveniles.” e Lone Tree Police Department said in a July 21 news release that a group of suspects “targeted unlocked vehicles and garages, committing o enses ranging from vehicle theft to credit card fraud and other unlawful activities.”

Jones said he does not know how many people are believed to be in the group.

According to the news release, one of the key incidents was on July 19, when suspects allegedly stole a 2021 Toyota RAV4 from a residential garage in Lone Tree. e following day, July 20, the “same suspects returned” and allegedly stole a 2017 Honda Accord, per the release.

Jones said he did not have information on whether the Honda Accord was stolen from the same garage as the Toyota RAV4 or from another location.

“Later, they visited a local convenience store with both stolen vehicles and stole various items, primarily vape products,” the police department said in the release.

“ e next night, o cers spotted the vehicle in the area but managed to evade law enforcement at high speeds.” e police department said the Toyota RAV4 resurfaced in Lone Tree on July 21. It was found abandoned in Lone Tree after reportedly “being involved in a motor vehicle crash,” per the release. Further details on the crash were not included in the statement. e IMPACT team is a regional team made up of detectives from Douglas County, Lone Tree, Castle Rock and Parker, according to the Douglas County Sheri ’s O ce. e police department said in the news release that the owners of the stolen BMW tracked the vehicle using a phone and provided information to Lone Tree o cers.

Jones said Lone Tree o cers tried to pursue the suspects but were not able to get to the vehicle.

According to the release, suspects stole two additional vehicles — a 2022 Mercedes Benz GLE and a 2020 BMW X5. e news release did not include speci c details about how these vehicles were stolen.

“ e stolen Mercedes Benz was located in Denver, thanks to the efforts of detectives from the Douglas County Regional IMPACT Team,” police said in the release.

“ is led to the safe apprehension of two male juvenile suspects by the Denver Police Department and Colorado State Patrol,” said the release, adding that no further identifying information about the suspects would be released at this time.

A loaded handgun was allegedly recovered from the vehicle.

“I don’t believe, at this time, we have recovered the Honda Accord,” Jones said.

Jones said the police department is asking residents to be more vigilant in locking up their front doors and the access points to their homes as well as making sure their vehicles are locked and secure.

“ e thing that we did note in that string (of crimes) was that people were able to access unlocked vehicles, grab garage door openers and access homes that way,” Jones said. e Lone Tree Police Department said it will continue investigating these crimes with the assistance of other local law enforcement partners, adding that this group of suspects is allegedly linked to crimes across the metro Denver area.

If residents have any information regarding these incidents, the Lone Tree Police Department asked that they contact Detective Cpl. Je Roepke at 720-509-1143 or via email at Je ery.Roepke@cityo onetree.com.