ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) on Thursday released police helicopter video showing a Good Samaritan who jumped into action to stop a truck thief.
The incident happened nearly two years ago, but the sheriff's office said investigators could not release information until the matter was resolved in court.
According to ACSO, on March 11, 2023, 41-year-old James McDonald walked into Groove Ford, located at 10039 East Arapahoe Road in Centennial, and asked to test drive a red Ford F-150. After the test drive, he later returned and stole the truck, according to the sheriff's office.
Arapahoe County investigators obtained an arrest warrant for McDonald for aggravated motor vehicle theft.
Two days later, on March 13, McDonald reportedly stole an RV motorhome in Lakewood. The RV had a 9mm handgun inside, according to the sheriff's office.
On March 16, Park County deputies spotted a woman driving the stolen F-150 and McDonald driving the stolen motorhome in the next lane. ACSO said the two drivers eluded deputies, resulting in a police pursuit. However, that pursuit was terminated due to safety reasons.
ACSO said its deputies spotted the stolen RV at a storage facility in unincorporated Arapahoe County on March 20. Investigators found multiple firearms inside the motorhome.
The next day, on March 21, McDonald stole a black Ford F-150 from Sterling Auto Sales in Franktown, according to the sheriff's office.
ACSO said a Lakewood police officer spotted McDonald driving the stolen black Ford F-150 on March 24. McDonald eluded the officer, so ACSO called in the Denver Police Department's Air1 helicopter to help locate him.
The police helicopter followed McDonald through the streets of Denver for about an hour until he crashed the F-150 and ran off. But Good Samaritan Johan Sebastian Eslava-Osorio was right on his tail.
- Watch the police helicopter video below
Video from Air1 shows Eslava-Osorio chasing after McDonald and eventually wrestling him down to the ground. At one point, McDonald was able to wiggle out of his jacket and run away, but he wasn't fast enough. Eslava-Osorio was able to hold down McDonald until Denver police officers arrived and took him into custody.
“Thanks to Mr. Eslava-Osorio’s swift action, the suspect was held and apprehended without further incident. I’m certain that if the suspect had fled the scene of the accident on foot, his desperate attempts to get away would have surely led to additional victims or additional property damage. As the investigator assigned to this case, I am very grateful that Mr. Eslava-Osorio was there to end the long search for the suspect,” said ACSO Investigator Jose Diaz in a statement.
McDonald was later convicted of aggravated auto theft and sentenced to 40 years in prison, according to ACSO.
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