El Paso County deputies say a July 4 confrontation near Cascade turned violent when a 51-year-old man allegedly opened fire inside a home, then clashed with law enforcement outside. The man, later identified by authorities as Garrett Duffy, was ultimately wrestled to the ground, taken into custody, and transported to a local hospital before being booked into jail.
What the sheriff's office says
According to a post by the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called around 7:30 p.m. to the 8500 block of Aspenglow Lane in the Cascade area after reports of gunfire inside a residence. The post states the man fired several rounds indoors, then left the scene.
Deputies later tracked him to a Woodland Park address on South Willow Street, where they found and detained him. The sheriff's office notes that Woodland Park police, Northeast Teller County Fire, and Ute Pass Regional Ambulance District assisted during the response.
Confrontation with deputies
In its account of the incident, the sheriff's office says the suspect walked out of the Woodland Park residence carrying a hunting rifle and aggressively moved toward deputies while swinging the weapon, ignoring repeated commands to drop it. Sheriff Joseph Roybal, in the Facebook post, said the encounter highlights "the dangerous and unpredictable situations deputies face while protecting the community" and credited responding personnel with showing professionalism and restraint.
Deputies allege that during a struggle, the man tried to disarm one of them before he was taken to the ground and secured without further incident.
Charges and booking
The sheriff's office reports that El Paso County deputies charged Garrett Duffy with menacing with a real or simulated weapon, resisting arrest, and second-degree assault. Authorities say he was taken to a local hospital before booking and that his bond was set at $10,000.
A public booking list shows a Garrett Duffy logged into Teller County custody on July 8, which lines up with the timeline described by the sheriff's office; that entry appears on a statewide booking site.
What the charges mean
Under Colorado law, second-degree assault can include causing injury with a deadly weapon or intentionally injuring someone to stop a peace officer from carrying out a lawful duty, while menacing involves knowingly placing another person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury. See CRS 18-3-203 and CRS 18-3-206 on Justia for the statutes, and Colorado's resisting-arrest statute is codified at CRS 18-8-103 on FindLaw.
What comes next
Cases stemming from incidents in El Paso and Teller counties are handled by the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which will review the sheriff's investigation and charging recommendations as the case moves into the court system. For background on the district and the local courts that oversee these matters, see the Colorado courts' El Paso County information page.
