DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. – The driver of a car that smashed into a sheriff’s deputy’s vehicle following a pursuit Thursday night now faces attempted murder and other charges in addition to the counts he was already wanted on, the sheriff’s office said Friday.
Deputies arrested Joshua Soto, 31, and Hannah Lee, 21, following the pursuit and crash.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says deputies tried to stop the vehicle the two were driving around 9:21 p.m. Thursday near C-470 and University. Both Soto and Lee were wanted for violations of their bond conditions in separate cases.
Soto was driving the car when deputies attempted to stop it, the sheriff’s office said. He fled the traffic stop at high speeds and got onto I-25, after which deputies briefly stopped the pursuit because of high speeds.
But Soto got off at Dry Creek and turned around, heading southbound on I-25 back toward Douglas County. While trying to stop the vehicle, Soto rammed a marked patrol vehicle into a barrier along the interstate, then rammed the deputy’s driver’s-side door again at approximately 40 miles per hour, the sheriff’s office said.
But deputies continued to follow the two, who stopped near the intersection of Mercury and Saturn drives and were taken into custody shortly afterward.
The sheriff’s office says the deputy whose vehicle was rammed was transported to a nearby hospital for injury evaluation and has since been released.
Soto is being held for investigation on new charges of attempted homicide, first-degree assault, vehicular eluding, criminal possession of ID documents and several traffic-related counts. The district attorney will determine which charges he will formally face, and he is being held on a $50,000 bond pending his next court appearance.
Lee is being held on an outstanding warrant that carries a bond of $25,750.