A man accused of setting a vehicle on fire in a Cheyenne Mountain Estates neighborhood was caught by a specialized fugitive-hunting unit on September 3 after he tried to run on foot from a house in Stratton Meadows. Deputies say 32-year-old Alex Luevano was taken into custody.
According to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, the office's Fugitive Impact Team tracked Luevano to a residence in the 1000 block of Rice Drive in Stratton Meadows, where he attempted to flee on foot before deputies took him into custody. As KRDO reports, deputies were originally called to a vehicle fire in front of a house in the 8100 block of Piute Road, where two victims had vehicles damaged on the property. Neighbors provided security footage that investigators say identified Luevano as the suspect.
The vehicle fire broke out around 4:20 a.m. on August 26 in the Cheyenne Mountain Estates area, per the same account, and deputies say the two victims had received threats from someone they knew before the fire. Deputies were initially unable to locate Luevano, and the case was eventually sent to the Sheriff's Office's Fugitive Impact Team, which obtained an arrest warrant before tracking him down.
A New Unit Built to Chase Down Repeat Offenders
The Fugitive Impact Team is a relatively new creation within the Sheriff's Office. El Paso County Sheriff Joseph Roybal established the unit on June 29, according to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, as a specialized team within the Law Enforcement Operations Division. Luevano's case was handled by the team after local deputies couldn't find him.
Luevano faces charges including second-degree arson, first-degree criminal trespass, second-degree criminal tampering, criminal mischief, and harassment, per KRDO's reporting. Under Colorado law, second-degree arson covers knowingly setting fire to another person's property other than a building or occupied structure — such as a vehicle — according to the Colorado Revised Statutes. The trespass charge stems from statutes covering unlawful entry or remaining in a dwelling and entering a vehicle with intent to steal something of value.
Released, Then Gone: The PR Bond Question
Deputies and El Paso County Sheriff's Office records indicate Luevano was released on a personal recognizance bond following his advisement hearing — a detail that raises questions about how a suspect facing multiple felony-level allegations ended up back on the street before being tracked down again. A personal recognizance bond involves a promise to appear without posting cash, and jail administrators are required to release PR bond recipients within six hours of bond entry barring extraordinary circumstances.
Colorado's overall recidivism rate is about 50%. Whether that statistic bears on Luevano's case specifically isn't addressed in the Sheriff's Office materials, but it underscores the pressure county law enforcement faces in tracking suspects who don't show up after release.
A Neighborhood With a Recent History of Trouble
Cheyenne Mountain Estates was the location of the vehicle fire. The 8100 block of Piute Road was the site of the vehicle-fire investigation.
The scene of the August fire was worked jointly by Sheriff's Office deputies and members of the Southwestern Highway 115 Fire Protection District.
Luevano was booked into the El Paso County Jail following his September 3 arrest. His case adds to a string of recent property-crime incidents across the county, including a Colorado Springs homeowner who fired on an intruder earlier this month before that suspect was also jailed on bond.
