DENVER — The man accused of carjacking a RTD bus, followed by a 20-minute crime spree, in August pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery on Thursday.
Solomon Garcia, 37, was charged on Aug. 26 with two counts of endangering public transportation, two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of first-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft, one count of attempted aggravated robbery and one count of attempted second-degree burglary.
That evening around 6:10 p.m., a RTD bus driver stopped the vehicle at the Southbound North Federal Bus Stop #F and Garcia got onto the bus. He allegedly told the driver he had a gun and demanded he get off the bus, according to the probable cause statement. He forced the driver off the bus and started driving it southbound.
Abut 10 minutes later, he crashed the vehicle at W. 6th Avenue Frontage Road and N. Lowell Boulevard. He left the bus and attempted to steal car keys from a nearby homeowner, but was unsuccessful, according to the probable cause statement.
He then carjacked a woman who was in the driver’s seat of her car in the westbound lanes on W. 6th Avenue Frontage Road. He opened the driver’s side door and told the woman that he’d kill her if she didn’t get out of the car, according to the probable cause statement.
The woman left the car and Garcia got in. Shortly afterward, around 6:30 p.m., he got into a second collision at N. Sheridan Boulevard and W. 1st Avenue. Denver police identified Garcia at the scene and arrested him.
Garcia pleaded guilty on Thursday. He will be sentenced on Dec. 12, 2019. He faces four to 10 years in prison.
