Alleged Serial Rapist Captured
Glenwood Springs Police Arrest Brent J. Brents After Brief Chase
POSTED: 11:31 pm MST February 18,
2005
UPDATED: 9:21 am MST February 19,
2005
DENVER -- Denver police said Saturday the alleged serial rapist linked to six attacks in the Capitol Hill neighborhood in the last seven days was captured after a chase in Glenwood Springs late Friday night.
"We've got some good news, finally," Denver police Chief Gerry Whitman said, announcing Brent Brents' capture at an early Saturday morning press conference. "The victims have been notified, and of course, they are very relieved."
Garfield County said they captured Brents at around 10:30 p.m. Denver police sent a team of detectives to Glenwood Springs with fingerprint cards to confirm the man's identity and later announced the man in custody was, indeed, Brents.Another woman was with Brents in the car when he was arrested after a chase through the town about 150 miles west of Denver on Interstate 70.Brents was in the same car taken from a Denver woman Friday evening after she was attacked.Whitman said that Brents apparently had been hiding out in an empty apartment near 10th Avenue and Marion Street.A woman called 911 around 5:30 p.m. to report that she was checking on an empty apartment when she was attacked by a white bald man who matched Brents' description. She said the man fled in her grey 2004 Mazda with another woman. The woman who was attacked told police that her cell phone was also taken in the assault.Nearly 100 officers flooded the area and searched for the stolen vehicle, locking down a neighborhood that had already been on edge since the attacks began."The car was stolen and the victim's cell phone was also stolen and we were tracking the cell phone up through I-70 and we notified CSP and the local jurisdictions that the cell phone was on its way up the mountain," Whitman said earlier in the evening Friday.Nothing further turned up until Colorado State Patrol troopers spotted the grey Mazda on Interstate 70 and tried to stop it. Instead of pulling over, the driver sped off and after a brief pursuit, the vehicle rammed a police car and landed in a ditch, Glenwood Springs police said.The driver -- later confirmed to be Brents -- was taken into custody. The woman, who police say may have been a hostage or at least another victim, was injured. She was taken to a Glenwood Springs hospital, and her condition and the nature of her injuries were not released."She was obviously beaten. There was a weapon and we don't know if the knife was used, and we can't talk about the sexual assault part of it," Whitman said.The victim may have stumbled upon Brents' hiding spot -- an unoccupied apartment located in the same neighborhood that he's preyed on since last Friday."I personally was surprised that he was so close, being that there was so much media attention and such a high police presence in that area," Whitman said.Three of the four units in that building were unoccupied. Police could not say whether the woman who was found with Brents had lived in that one occupied unit or if she had some prior history with Brents.Less than 30 minutes before the Marion attack, police rushed to a grocery store at 9th Avenue and Downing where a woman said she saw a man matching Brents' description shopping. He was gone when police arrived.Several hours into the lockdown, officers began taking down yellow police tape around the Cheesman Park neighborhood because they knew that their man was no longer in the neighborhood.Brents is accused in six attacks on women and girls in the Capitol Hill neighborhood -- the latest of which occurred Friday afternoon, just hours before he was captured.Another technology -- DNA -- was also credited for Brents' quick capture."It was definitely a major crime spree. I think we're fortunate that we have the chemical evidence we needed to identify somebody quickly so that we could mobilize around actually trying to find one person. And fortunately enough, within five days, we've found that person," Whitman said. "All kinds of technology played a big part in this case all the way through, and I think this is something you'll see successful prosecution and arrests from now on. We're real excited about the capability of DNA."Denver police also credited the massive number of detectives, patrol officers, and deputies who helped in the investigation and helped search for Brents, especially as numerous tips flooded in and the status of Brents' whereabouts changed constantly.Even on Friday night when a woman reported the attack at 10th and Marion, police weren't sure if they were searching for Brents or some other suspect."We started out thinking that it was not Brents, then we thought it was, and then we thought it wasn't, so we went back and forth on that. And we were still questioning that whole fact until Garfield County called and said they had a good ID on the suspect," Whitman said. "We continued to look for a car just like it was a felon that was fleeing an area of a crime with the hopes that it was actually Brents, and of course, it turned out to be that way."Brents is expected to be brought back to Denver by Saturday afternoon."He'll face numerous charges. He's going to be facing charges that carry a life sentence, and he will be charged with a number of sexual assaults, at least," said Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey.Whitman said he does not believe that anyone will receive the $40,000 reward offered for the capture of the convicted pedophile, because law enforcement officers are exempt from the offer.Additional Information:
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- A list of the state's most violent sexual offenders can be found on the Colorado Bureau of Information's Web site. However, only violent offenders, repeat offenders, and offenders who have not registered are listed. To get a list for your neighborhood, visit your local police department and ask to see the sex offender registry. There's usually a small handling fee involved. A few cities and counties have this list online. You'll need to check with your police department to see if you can access this online.
Previous Stories:
- February 18, 2005: Attack Prompts Police To Shut Down Capitol Hill Neighborhood
- February 18, 2005: Search For Suspected Serial Rapist Goes National
- February 17, 2005: Reward Raised As Manhunt Continues For Suspected Serial Rapist
- February 16, 2005: Police: 4 Sexual Assault Cases Connected To Same Suspect
- February 15, 2005: Burglar Invades Home, Sexually Assaults 2
- February 14, 2005: Denver Neighborhood On Edge After Two Sex Assaults
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