Two Colorado Springs teenagers wanted for weeks in connection with a shooting that left a man hospitalized surrendered peacefully on Thursday, Sept. 17, after a fugitive task force tracked them to an apartment on the city's southeast side. Zyon Bailey, 18, and Trayvon Bluitt, 19, were taken into custody in the 2600 block of Partnership Point following brief negotiations, ending a manhunt that stretched back to late August.
The case traces to around 1:45 a.m. on Aug. 28, when officers responded to a reported shooting in the 900 block of Cana Grove, according to fox21news.com. An adult man was found with suspected gunshot wounds and taken to the hospital, where his injuries were described as serious but reportedly stable. Colorado Springs Police issued warrants for Bailey and Bluitt in the weeks that followed, and the department later posted the arrests in a blotter entry, per the department.
Accounts of the exact charges vary by outlet. Fox21 reported that police said the pair were wanted for attempted murder, first-degree assault and aggravated robbery in connection with the shooting, while the Colorado Springs Gazette reported that Bailey and Bluitt face first-degree attempted murder after deliberation charges. Both news organizations agree the pair have several charges connected with the shooting.
How Investigators Closed In
On Thursday, Sept. 17, the Violent Offender Fugitive Task Force identified an apartment near South Academy and Hancock Expressway connected to associates of the two suspects, the station's report states. That lead led officers to the 2600 block of Partnership Point, where Bailey and Bluitt were ultimately taken into custody without incident after the brief negotiations.
Bluitt was brought to the police station for an interview before being booked into the El Paso County Jail, and Bailey was also booked into jail, per the same account. Neither suspect had posted the $50,000 bonds set in the case, and no court dates had been scheduled as of the arrests, according to the Gazette's reporting.
Criminal Histories Diverge
Court records reviewed by the Gazette show Bluitt has several open cases for drugs, weapons and other charges. Bailey, by contrast, has no publicly available criminal court history in Colorado, the Gazette reported. The Gazette's report, written by Cleo Westin, did not include additional detail about the alleged crimes or the basis for investigators' determinations in the case.
The identity of the man hospitalized in the shooting has not been disclosed, and it remains unclear whether a weapon was recovered during the investigation. Those details, along with any future court proceedings for Bailey and Bluitt, remain unresolved as the case moves forward.
