A neighbor near the 17900 block of Red Rocks Drive in the Monument area spotted a male and female trying to pry open doors and windows early last Saturday morning, and by the time patrol deputies pieced the scene together, the pair had already slipped inside, grabbed a set of vehicle keys, and driven off in a red 2001 Toyota Tundra parked in the driveway. The case remains an active burglary and motor vehicle theft investigation, with no arrests announced.
According to the EPC Sheriff's Office, the reporting party witnessed the suspects attempting to open doors and windows at the residence before they managed to get inside. Deputies determined the two found the vehicle keys somewhere inside the home, then used them to drive away in the stolen Tundra, which carries Colorado license plate 740YTI. The sheriff's office's Regional Communications Center received the burglary report the same morning.
Investigators are now asking anyone near Red Rocks Drive to check surveillance, doorbell, or Ring camera footage from 5 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. last Saturday, the window during which the break-in and theft are believed to have occurred. Anyone with footage or information is asked to call the sheriff's tip line at 719-520-7777. The sheriff's office says it will release additional information as appropriate as the investigation continues.
An Isolated Address, but Not an Unfamiliar Problem
The address sits in unincorporated El Paso County near the Monument Fire Center and Mount Herman trailheads, which is why the case falls to county deputies rather than the Town of Monument's own police department. That area has a documented history of recurring vehicle break-ins and property thefts, according to Friends of Monument Preserve, a community group that has long urged residents near the trailheads to stay vigilant and report suspicious activity promptly. Past incidents in the vicinity have involved thieves using credit cards stolen from vehicles at nearby retail stores, per the same account.
The tactic described in this case — entering a home briefly to retrieve keys before driving off in a car parked outside — reflects a known vulnerability that has repeatedly played out in the area, Friends of Monument Preserve notes. It's a reminder that securing a vehicle sometimes matters less than securing what's inside the house.
Colorado's Ongoing Auto Theft Problem
The Red Rocks Drive theft lands amid a broader, complicated picture for vehicle crime in Colorado. A July report by the Common Sense Institute found Colorado ranked first nationally in motor vehicle theft rates per 1,000 registered vehicles from 2020 through 2022, and second in 2023 and 2024, adding an estimated $201 million a year to Colorado households' auto insurance costs. Even so, the trend line has been improving: motor vehicle theft rates in nearby Colorado Springs fell 50% during the first half of 2026 compared to the same period last year, according to Hoodline's earlier reporting on a Colorado Springs trailer heist that cost a Nashville singer $22,000 in stolen gear.
Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 18-4-409, motor vehicle theft is a felony in every case, ranging from a Class 5 felony up to a Class 3 felony punishable by four to 12 years in state prison and fines as high as $750,000, depending on prior convictions, the vehicle's value, or other aggravating factors. If investigators determine the entry into the Red Rocks Drive home meets the threshold for first-degree burglary under C.R.S. § 18-4-202 — which applies when a suspect unlawfully enters an occupied structure and assaults, menaces, or threatens an occupant with a deadly weapon — that charge alone is a Class 3 felony carrying the same four-to-12-year prison range. No such aggravating circumstances have been described in this case so far.
Who's Fielding the Tips
Calls like the one that came in from Red Rocks Drive route through the sheriff's Regional Communications Center, which fielded nearly 285,000 calls for service in 2025 and answered roughly 90% of incoming 911 calls within 15 seconds after a $2.25 million hub expansion wrapped up in October 2025. Residents can also submit tips or review local crime information through the department's ADA-compliant website, epcsheriff.com, launched in collaboration with regional accessibility advocates the previous year.
For now, deputies have not said whether they believe the male and female suspects are connected to other break-ins in the area, whether any doorbell footage collected so far has produced leads, or whether the stolen Tundra has been located. Anyone with relevant footage or information is urged to contact the sheriff's tip line.
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