YOUR AD HERE »

Shooting suspect in custody

John LaConte and Pam Boyd
Daily Staff Writers
Jesus Manuel Miranda Jr.

SILT — Shooting suspect Jesus Manuel Miranda Jr. was apprehended by the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office early Saturday morning following a more than 12-hour manhunt.

Garfield County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Walt Stowe said officers apprehended Miranda after following up on a report that the car Miranda was last seen in was spotted near Newcastle. Stowe said the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office stopped that car near Silt and Miranda, who was a passenger in the vehicle, was apprehended while the driver fled on foot. Garfield County Sheriffs officers requested backup from the Rifle Police Department which used their K9 unit to aid in a search for the driver. A 30-minute search ensued and the driver was apprehended. The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office declined to release the name of the driver. At least one gun was in the vehicle at the time of the arrests, Stowe said.

Miranda, 31, of Dotsero, was the prime suspect in an armed robbery Friday which left one man injured.



A female suspect was also taken into custody Friday afternoon in connection with the shooting. Authorities have not released her name.

The shooting occurred at approximately 12:20 p.m. Friday afternoon at Tienda Montes, a retail shop located at 925 Green Way in Gypsum’s Dakota Square shopping area. The victim was taken from the scene in an ambulance and is in stable condition.

Support Local Journalism



THREE GUNSHOT WOUNDS

According to Jessie Mosher of the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, witnesses on scene stated that there was an armed robbery resulting in an altercation with one individual sustaining three gunshot wounds. The person was not an employee at the shop. The two suspects then fled the scene. Multiple law enforcement agencies converged in the Gypsum area searching for the suspects.

Workers at a nearby business reported hearing a gunshot and then seeing people pointing in the direction where the suspects fled.

At the end of the school day, the Eagle County Alert system informed parents that after-school activities were canceled and that students would not be allowed to walk or ride bikes home. Students were escorted to buses and parents were instructed to pick up their children at school if they had walked or ridden bikes to class. A Vail Christian home game scheduled for 7 p.m. at Eagle Valley High School was moved to Battle Mountain High School.

Another Eagle County Alert, issued at 4:15 p.m., informed Gypsum residents that they could return to their homes, but that checkpoints had been established in the Gypsum Estates area. Once home, residents were told to keep doors and windows locked and stay inside.

MULTIPLE CONVICTIONS

• On Sept. 26, 2005, Miranda pleaded guilty to unauthorized use of a financial transaction device, a Class 5 felony, and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

• On Aug. 7, 2008, he pleaded guilty to possession of a Schedule 2 controlled substance — more than 1 gram, a Class 5 felony.

• On Oct. 5, 2009, he pleaded guilty to harassment — strike/shove/kick, a Class 3 misdemeanor, and was sentenced to 15 days in jail.

• On June 17, 2010, he pleaded guilty to possession of a Schedule 2 controlled substance — 1 gram or less, a Class 6 felony.

• On Dec. 12, 2007, he pleaded guilty to failure to register as a sex offender, a Class 1 misdemeanor. He was charged with the same crime again in 2011, that time as a Class 6 felony, and again pleaded guilty. Also in 2011, Miranda pleaded guilty to the Class 4 felony of escape attempt from felony conviction, and was sentenced to two years in jail. Miranda was convicted of a sex offense when he was a minor, according to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office.

• On Aug. 18, 2015, Miranda turned himself in to the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office for a warrant for third degree assault and disorderly conduct. He posted bond and is currently going through the court process in that case, a sheriff’s spokesperson said.


Support Local Journalism