GJPD criminalists and investigators at a crime scene

You’re probably seen it on television- a crime scene investigator in a white coat, bending over a lab table with only a desk lamp lighting the room, pulling fingerprints out of thin air. It makes for some great TV, as evidenced by a number of very popular television shows on the air right now. If only reality allowed us to do half the things CSIs can do on TV.

That’s not to say there aren’t some very interesting and hi-tech jobs being done by our real life CSIs. For example, Trent Rundquist, a Grand Junction Police Department employee since 2007, is now certified by the International Association for Identification (IAI) as a Crime Scene Investigator. He passed the written test and recently received his “official” letter and certificate.

GJPD Criminalist Trent Rundquist looking for evidence

This was a personal goal of his that he started working on last year. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) only requires Rundquist to be certified by the IAI as a Latent Print Examiner, which according to the IAI website there is a 63% pass rate for Latent Print Examiners and only 870 in the world that are certified.  But Rundquist didn’t want to stop there, which is why he took on this extra challenge for a job that he says he absolutely loves.

“It’s fun. No day is the same and it’s challenging. I love challenges. I want to be the best I can be at what I do,” he says

There are three criminalists who work for the Grand Junction Police Department. Rundquist works as the Latent Print Examiner and the other two deal with chemistry, biology, and controlled substances.

Thanks to a partnership with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, our criminalists have state of the art equipment to help them in their work. This partnership began during the summer of 2008 when the GJPD criminalists moved in with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after that agency built a new facility in Grand Junction.

GJPD Laboratory Sergeant Dave Oswalt said, “We decided to team up with CBI because they were bringing a lab to Junction. The lab we had wasn’t the best.”

Our criminalists handle GJPD cases first and then they branch out to the other agencies. Because of the partnership, it’s not uncommon to find GJPD criminalists working alongside CBI investigators at their crime scenes.

“It is a good opportunity for our criminalists to gain some good experience and knowledge,” adds Sgt. Oswalt.

“The move helped the police department out money wise and helped CBI by giving them more man power,” Rundquist said. “We now have the opportunity to get with people who are in the same field as us, which is really nice.”

So, how do these guys jobs compare to what we all see on television? Rundquist said it’s common to be at a scene for at least 12 hours, not solving the entire case in one hour. He also wishes that the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) worked like it did on TV- where you put the fingerprint in the system and it brings up the person’s drivers license.

The AFIS does bring up a list of possible matches, and then Rundquist has to go through each person and pick out the correct match. His work is then checked out by another person. This process can be as short as couple of days or it can take a couple of weeks.

“No one rolls up to a scene in a humvee wearing stilettos. You also have to have a lot of knowledge in small things, like photography and math skills. We are always measuring blood spatter and bullet trajectories,” Rundquist said. “Never will I be at a scene for 10 minutes and find one piece of evidence that’s going to solve the case. It’s nothing like you see on CSI and all of those other shows.”

Rundquist adds he also gets a laugh at how dark the labs are on the TV shows. In this profession you need as much light as possible. But hey, we can’t all work in Hollywood.

The first incident happened on the night of Sunday, December 4 near Whitman Park.  In that incident a man riding his bicycle through the park was attacked by two dogs, resulting in multiple bites.  The man was able to use his bicycle as a partial shield until someone eventually called the dogs off and the animals left the area.  The man was treated and released at the hospital.

The second incident happened on Monday, December 5 at about 8am in the area of 5^th St. near Duck Pond Park.  In that incident a man walking on 5^th St. was attacked by four dogs.  He received multiple severe bites before some people nearby scared off the animals.  It is unknown if those people were associated with the dogs.  The man then walked to a nearby business and called a taxi, which took him to the hospital.

Neither victim was able to provide a good description of the animals, however the victims believe they were pit bulls.

This information is being provided to the public for two reasons:

1. To prevent future attacks.
2. To help law enforcement identify and track down the animals, their owners, and potential witnesses.

“Because of the severity of these attacks, our department is aggressively investigating these cases in order to mitigate any potential danger, and to track down the responsible dogs and their owners,” said Grand Junction Police Chief John Camper.  “Animal Services advises us that these types of attacks are extremely rare.  While we don’t want to be alarmists, we do want people to be informed of the potential danger.”

Residents who see dogs exhibiting aggressive or pack-like behavior in the Downtown area or near the river should call 911 immediately so we can dispatch officers and Animal Services to that location for further investigation.  In the meantime, officers have increased patrols in the areas where these attacks have occurred and are jointly planning operations with the County to further identify and capture aggressive dogs.

If anyone has information about these incidents they can call the Grand Junction Police Department at 242-6707, call Crime Stoppers at 241-STOP, send the information via the web at www.241stop.com, or text CRIMES to 241STOP and include your tip information. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The City of Grand Junction and Mesa County require all dogs to be on leashes when they are not confined to a home or kennel.  They also require all dogs to be properly licensed.

Mesa County Animal Control has provided the following tips for how to prevent dog attacks:

• Be aware of your surroundings to help avoid getting into a dangerous situation.
• Never run.
• Assume a non-threatening position and do not make eye contact.
• Stay upright and move toward a safe location when possible.
• More information can be found at http://animalservices.mesacounty.us/template.aspx?id=2358.

The businesses that are out of compliance must go before the City of Grand Junction’s Liquor Hearing Officer or State Liquor Hearing Board, which will determine how the business will be sanctioned.  Penalties could range from a fine to a suspension.  A liquor license revocation would only happen if a business was determined to be a chronic violator.

The businesses that were not in compliance are:

This joint agency operation was funded by the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws grant that was given to the Grand Junction Police Department.

The City of Grand Junction is offering FREE training for liquor license owners, their managers and employees. 

More information about the training can be found at http://www.gjcity.org/Administration.aspx?id=2147527212

Scammers Are Shopping For Potential Victims

 Between tough economic conditions and people trying to afford everything on their holiday shopping lists, scammers are looking for people who might let their guard down and fall victim to the promise of easy money.  We’ve seen a slight uptick in the number of people reporting potential scams they’ve received in their mailboxes or computer inboxes.  All of the scams make exciting promises that will never come true, and could end up costing the victim thousands of dollars in losses.

 The types scams we are seeing lately aren’t new, however the scammers are coming up with new names and official sounding writing that try to make them look and sound legitimate.  It’s common for scammers to mail realistic looking checks to you, complete with your name and address.  The scammers usually say the checks are sent to cover the costs of claiming prizes, and that all that you need to do is cash the checks and send the money back, and millions of dollars will be sent to you.  The problem, however, is the checks are from fake accounts, and when you cash them and send the money, you end up having to cover the cost once your bank is eventually notified that the accounts don’t exist.

 If you receive any of these scams in your mailbox or you email inbox, do not respond to them- simply throw them away.  You do not need to notify the police department, as we are already aware they exist.

 Check out the examples of scams area residents have received by mail and email below.

Mailed Scam example

Emailed Scam example

With the start of cold weather in the Grand Valley, drivers need to remember that icy road conditions may exist, even if it’s not snowing.  In just a couple of hours this morning Grand Junction Police Officers and Grand Junction Fire Fighters responded to more than a half dozen crashes throughout the city.  Four of those crashes happened on the 5^th St. bridge, and drivers going too fast for the icy conditions and sliding into each other played a big role in causing those accidents.  Luckily, there were no major injuries in any of the crashes.

 Drivers need to remember that bridges often become icy even when the rest of the roads around town are clear and dry.  Shady areas are also places where we frequently see crashes due to ice.  Remember to slow down and leave plenty of space between you and the vehicles in front of you, so that you can avoid sliding into other cars or objects.  Drivers also need to make sure to scrape ice and frost from their vehicle windows before they begin driving.  Drivers can be ticketed for having their view obstructed by windows that they can’t see out of.

Case # 11-55091

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo -  The Grand Junction Police Department is investigating an armed robbery that took place just after midnight this morning.  Officers were dispatched to the Bradley Sinclair at 201 North Avenue after an employee at the store called 911 to report she had been robbed at gunpoint. The suspect was gone before they arrived.

An employee of the store told officers a man walked into the store, pointed a gun at her, and demanded money.  The suspect description is a white man, 5 feet- 8inches tall, between 18 and 25 years old, wearing a light colored plaid hoodie, a dark beanie style hat, and an orange bandana over his face.  The man then took off on foot with some cash and cigarettes.

 Officers immediately set up a perimeter and brought out a K9 to attempt to track the suspect, but they were not able to find him.

 If anyone has information about this incident they can call the Grand Junction Police Department at 242-6707, call Crime Stoppers at 241-STOP, send the information via the web at www.241stop.com, or text CRIMES to 241STOP and include your tip information. 

# # #

Case # 11-53604

  GRAND JUNCTION, Colo -  The Grand Junction Police Department is trying to identify all of the victims in a theft from autos investigation.  On Friday, November 4 from about 10pm to 4am, a 17-year-old boy is suspected of breaking into several cars and stealing items that were inside.  That teenage has since been arrested.  At this point in our investigation we have identified a couple of victims of this crime, however we believe there are possibly at least a dozen more people who have not come forward, or who are not aware they are victims.  The suspect did not damage any of the vehicles during his thefts, and instead only targeted unlocked cars.  Because there was no damage, we believe victims may not have realized yet that they are missing items that were in their cars.

 We believe the area where these thefts took place is approximately between 15^th St. and 28^th St., and between Belford Ave. and Grand Ave.  Vehicle owners in that area should check for items missing from their glove boxes and storage compartments, as well as any purses or bags they keep stored in their vehicles.  We have recovered several items we believe were stolen during this crime and would like to return them to their owners.  Victims can stop by the police department at 625 Ute Ave. to make a report, or call 242-6707.

Auto Theft Task Force Trophy

Less than two years since it was first put into operation in Mesa County, the Western Colorado Auto Theft Task Force (WCATT) is receiving statewide recognition for its efforts.  In October the Colorado Auto Theft Prevention Authority awarded WCATT the Team Achievement Award, choosing it above all other task forces in the state.

 During the first six months of 2011 WCATT has recovered 17 stolen vehicles with a total estimated value of those recoveries at about $159,000.  The task force is also credited with 12 felony arrests through June of this year related to auto theft.

 “We are very grateful for this recognition,” said Sgt. Stan Ancell, WCATT Supervisor.  “We’ve been working very proactively to combat auto theft in our area before it becomes a larger problem”

Four local law enforcement agencies and the Mesa County District Attorney’s Office make up the WCATT to combat auto theft in Mesa County.  This effort is thanks to a 2010 grant from the Colorado Department of Public Safety.  The agencies include the Grand Junction Police Department, Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, Colorado State Patrol, Fruita Police Department, and Mesa County District Attorney’s Office.  A total of 6 people, with representatives from each agency, make up the task force.

Mesa County has the 10^th highest number of auto thefts in the state.  From 2000 to 2008 the theft rate in the 21^st Judicial District, which represents Mesa County, has increased from 1.18% to 2.39% of all auto thefts in Colorado.

Cooperation across jurisdictions is the key to combating today’s highly mobile auto theft suspects.  The combined efforts that lead to the formation of the WCATT is part of an overwhelming consensus that a cooperative effort among all the agencies in Mesa County is needed to make a substantial impact and make the most of limited resources. 

For more information about auto theft prevention visit www.lockdownyourcar.org.

We are grateful for all of the work Sgt. Chavez does for our community, and hope you will be able to see the unveiling of this campaign on Friday, Oct. 7th at the Mesa Mall.  It will include a gallery of portraits from 16 prominent men in the community, including Sgt. Chavez.

To help combat this, the Grand Junction Police Department is teaming up with Mesa County Partners, the City Attorney’s Office, Colorado Mesa University, and State Probation to teach parents and their teenagers what the law is regarding underage drinking, what can happen if teens break it, and how adults can help prevent it.

The presentation is open to all parents and teens, and will provide those in attendance with pro-active ways to help teens choose personal empowerment and positive choices over underage drinking.

 WHAT: Underage Drinking Prevention Presentation

WHEN: Wednesday, October 12,  5:30pm- 6:30pm

WHERE: City Hall Auditorium, 250 N 5^th St.

 The presentation is FREE and no registration is required.

 Here is a flyer with more details: 10-04-2011 Underage Drinking Presentation