WESTMINSTER, Colo. — The man accused of trying to abduct a girl walking to school in Westminster in late October was allegedly involved in multiple crimes that same day, according to his arrest affidavit.
Charges were filed against Jeremiah Samuel Mullins, 31, of Denver on Oct. 25, a few hours after the alleged attempted abduction. He faces charges of aggravated robbery, kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, aggravated motor vehicle theft and possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
Westminster
Charges filed against man accused of attempting to abduct girl in Westminster
Mullins was arrested on the same day as the alleged attempted abduction.
On Oct. 25, a 14-year-old girl reported the alleged attempted abduction after the driver of a silver car approached her near W. 125th Avenue and Delaware Street — near both Mountain Range High School and Silver Hills Middle School — just after 7 a.m., according to the Westminster Police Department.
The suspect was later identified as Mullins.
The girl told police that the driver threatened her with a gun and told her to get in the car, but she refused. The man grabbed her backpack before taking off and the girl made it to school safely, where she reported the incident, police said.
When police arrived on scene, they found a school employee who had called police for the girl. The woman reported that she was waved down by the young girl, who was screaming and crying. The officer then spoke with the 14-year-old, who said "a car with a male driver pulled up next to her, pointed a gun at her and told her to get into the car or he would shoot her," the affidavit reads. The girl reported he told her this multiple times.
"She lied to the male and told him she had money," it continues. "He grabbed the backpack from her and drove off."
A detective then arrived at the school to talk to the girl, along with her mother and father who had arrived at that point.
The girl showed authorities the route she takes to walk to school. That morning, she said she heard a car slowing down behind her. It pulled up next to her and she said the driver screamed at her to get in the car, the affidavit reads. He was holding a gun out the window, the girl said. She said another car was coming toward them, and she stalled the man by saying she had money in her backpack. He grabbed the bag and fled, and she was able to wave down the other driver for help, according to the affidavit.
The girl described the suspect to the detective, including his tattoos, and said his car appeared like he had been in a couple of crashes and had stickers on it, the document reads. She said it appeared to be "silver with dirt on it." She also described her backpack that he took.
While the detective was speaking with the girl and her parents, the Thornton Police Department issued a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert for a robbery involving a gold car that had just happened at 136th Avenue and Grant Street.
This was the start of a string of crimes before and after the Westminster attempted abduction incident that allegedly involved Mullins, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Denver7 on Monday morning.
The first was around 6 a.m. that same day. In that case, police said the suspect approached a man sitting in his car in Thornton and demanded the man get out. The suspect then pointed a gun at the man and told him to give him his phone, wallet and keys, according to the affidavit. The man gave him the wallet and phone and said, believing his keys were in the car, told the suspect such. He then ran away and called 911. He later realized his keys were still in his pocket, and when he returned to the scene, he found that the car had not moved. He later told police that "he was in fear for his life," according to the affidavit. He said several items were missing from the car. Police were able to obtain surveillance footage of this incident. The suspect's car appeared to be gold with a possible temporary tag and sticker on the driver's rear window, according to the affidavit.
The second was the incident at 136th Avenue and Grant Street in Thornton, which had initiated Thornton police to issue the BOLO alert. This one happened around 9 a.m., after the alleged attempted abduction.
In that case, a woman had arrived at her home, parked the car and opened the rear driver's side door when she saw the driver of a gold sedan reversing near her, according to the affidavit. The driver rolled down a window and pointed a gun at her, she told police. The suspect then told her to drop her keys, get her baby from the back of the car "and run," the affidavit reads. The woman did so, but the man followed her in his car and told her to "get in the car" while she pleaded "no" and "I have my baby. Just let me go," the affidavit reads. The woman was able to enter an access code to the apartment and got inside safely. The woman told police the man appeared to be in a gold car with a temporary tag and sticker on the driver's side rear window, according to the affidavit. This incident was also recorded on a surveillance camera in the area.
Police determined that the suspect in both Thornton cases was likely the same person.
Shortly after noon that same day, a felony menacing was reported in Westminster. The victim told police she was parked in the parking lot finishing a phone call when an unknown man opened her front passenger door, pointed a gun at her and demanded that she drive.
"She was in fear for her life and pleaded with him," the affidavit read. "She told him she did not want to be harmed. He then grabbed her neck and told her to drive."
The woman drove her Nissan Leaf until he told her to park and get out of the car. The man then tried to start the car, but because it was electric, he could not figure out how to do so. The woman told police she went to a nearby business and contacted their security, who called police. Westminster police went to where the car had been parked and found it still there. They collected a fingerprint on the inside of the driver's door handle, the affidavit reads.
Police searched license plate reader cameras to see if any had captured an image of the suspect's car. One camera had spotted a gold Subaru at 128th Avenue and Grant at 7:19 a.m. that morning. It appeared to have a temporary tag and bumper stickers, the affidavit reads.
Police searched a list of stolen vehicles to see if they could find a match. They found a potential match for a 2008 Subaru Legacy with a temporary tag that had been stolen on Oct. 23, two days prior, the affidavit reads.
According to the Westminster Police Department, an officer had pulled that car over on Oct. 24 — one day after it had been stolen and one day before the attempted abduction report, according to the affidavit. The driver, who handed the officer an ID card for Jeremiah Mullins, said he got the car from a friend and was not sure who it was registered to. After the officer told the driver to stay put as he walked back to his patrol car, the driver pulled away. The officer followed as the suspect reached 70 mph in a 40 mph zone and, after an unsuccessful attempt to stop the suspect with a spike strip, police stopped the pursuit, according to the affidavit.
Footage from this incident showed that the car had bumper stickers, a sticker on the driver's side rear window, a temporary tag and matched the description of the cars used during the robberies in Thornton, the affidavit reads.
When police searched for Mullins in their database, they discovered he had a parole warrant related to a 2019 carjacking.
Police also found that Mullins had allegedly burglarized a Thornton apartment on Oct. 13, and borrowed a woman's car on Oct. 21 without returning it, according to the affidavit. He left his backpack at the scene of the burglary, and it contained personal mail, paperwork and photos of Mullins with two other people, according to the affidavit.
At 5:39 p.m. on Oct. 25, police issued a bulletin asking all law enforcement to be on the lookout for Mullins and the Subaru. Barely five minutes later, a Westminster police officer found the car at a motel parking lot. The officer saw a man, whom he identified as Mullins, get out of the car. A second officer arrived in an unmarked car and also identified the man as Mullins. The officers believed he had a gun in his pocket, according to the affidavit.
Police made a plan to arrest him and he was taken into custody. They found a small caliber semi-automatic handgun in his pants pocket, the affidavit reads. Because Mullins had been convicted of a robbery in 2020, he was not allowed to possess a weapon.
The officers transported Mullins to the Westminster Police Department to be booked under his parole warrant, and requested a tow to have the Subaru brought back to the department.
Police found multiple items belonging to the victims in the Subaru, including the 14-year-old girl's backpack. They also found the man's stolen iPhone from one of the Thornton robberies. The phone records showed it had pinged towers near 125th Avenue and Delaware Street around the time of the attempted abduction, the affidavit reads.
The 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office filed formal charges against Mullins on Friday. He faces charges of aggravated robbery, kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, aggravated motor vehicle theft and possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
Mullins' next court date is scheduled for Dec. 20.
Denver7 is committed to making a difference in our community by standing up for what's right, listening, lending a helping hand and following through on promises. See that work in action, in the videos above.