Two armed men allegedly broke into a Jefferson County home early Saturday morning, forced a man and a woman into a car and then crashed the car in Denver during a police chase.
The crime is believed to be connected to a marijuana business, said Mark Techmeyer, spokesman for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.
Both suspects, one black and the other Hispanic, fled and have not been caught. The kidnapping victims, who have not been identified, were rescued after the crash.
The man who was kidnapped, along with a second man left by kidnappers at the home, received minor injuries. The woman was unharmed, Techmeyer said.
Sheriff’s investigators were called about a home invasion kidnapping at 12:30 a.m.
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The home, on the 16900 block of West 73rd Place, was occupied by a couple and a male roommate. A caller told investigators that two men armed with handguns forced their way into the home.
The suspects forced the woman and the roommate into the couple’s car. The black suspect got into the car and they drove away. It is unclear what happened to the Hispanic suspect at that time, but he did not enter the car and was not seen again, Techmeyer said.
Shortly after the car left the home, a Mountain View police officer spotted the car on Interstate 70 near Sheridan Boulevard, he said.
The officer pursued the suspect into downtown Denver where the car occupied by one suspect and the kidnap victims crashed near 23rd and Stout streets. The suspect fled ran away.
Police were unable to find either of the suspects.
“The relationship between the victims and the suspects is believed to be tied to a marijuana-based business,” Techmeyer said. “We believe there is a connection somehow.”
Investigators were still interviewing the victims at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, denverpost.com/coldcases or twitter.com/kirkmitchell
