A Monday evening fender-bender at a Rifle gas station spiraled into a multi-agency highway pursuit that ended with a 21-year-old local man facing more than a dozen charges, including second-degree kidnapping and false imprisonment. Officers were called to the Maverik gas station on Taughenbaugh Boulevard for a two-vehicle crash that caused no injuries, but one driver took off before police arrived, setting off a chase that stretched from Highway 6 onto westbound Interstate 70 toward Parachute.
Rifle police say an officer soon spotted a vehicle matching the description of the car that fled the crash scene and attempted a traffic stop, according to KDVR. The driver, identified by police as Joshua Velazquez of Rifle, refused to stop and instead sped off westbound on Highway 6, prompting local agencies to send additional crews to assist with the pursuit.
From there, the chase entered westbound I-70, according to the same report. The Rifle Police Department said the pursuit ultimately ended on the north side of I-70 near Mile Marker 73, where Rifle officers and Garfield County Sheriff's deputies carried out a high-risk vehicle stop to take Velazquez into custody without further incident.
Stop Sticks Deployed Near Parachute
Getting the fleeing vehicle to actually stop required coordinated work from a third agency. The Garfield County Sheriff's Office and the Parachute Police Department positioned officers ahead of the pursuit and deployed stop sticks near Mile Marker 76 on I-70, deflating the vehicle's tires and forcing it to come to a stop roughly three miles later, per the Rifle Police Department's account. That stretch of highway runs through western Garfield County near Parachute, about 10 miles west of Rifle along the Colorado River valley.
The pursuit capped what became an unusually long charge sheet for the department. Velazquez was booked on a wide mix of traffic infractions and misdemeanors tied directly to the chase itself, including reckless driving, careless driving, driving on the wrong side of a divided highway, failure to drive in a single lane, failure to signal, and speeding 25 to 39 miles per hour over the posted limit both generally and within a construction zone, according to KDVR's reporting.
Felony Counts Carry the Heaviest Weight
Beyond the traffic violations, Velazquez faces two felony charges that carry far steeper consequences. He was booked on one count of vehicular eluding, a Class 5 felony that, under Colorado Revised Statutes § 18-9-116.5, applies when a driver recklessly flees a pursuing law enforcement vehicle displaying lights or sirens, and carries a mandatory minimum fine of $2,000, according to Justia Law.
The more serious of the two felony counts is second-degree kidnapping, charged under Colorado Revised Statutes § 18-3-302 when someone knowingly seizes and carries a person from one place to another without consent. As explained by FindLaw, the offense is a Class 4 felony carrying a presumptive sentence of two to six years in state prison, a notably harsher exposure than a simple false imprisonment charge, which Velazquez also faces as a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Domestic Violence Enhancer and Minor Involved
Velazquez was also arrested on one count of domestic violence, listed as a sentence enhancer rather than a standalone crime. In Colorado, domestic violence attaches under C.R.S. § 18-6-801 to underlying offenses involving intimate partners, triggering mandatory court-ordered treatment and federal firearm prohibitions upon conviction, per FindLaw. Police have not publicly disclosed the identity or condition of the person involved in that enhancer, nor of the minor referenced in a separate charge.
That separate charge, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, is a Class 1 misdemeanor under Colorado Revised Statutes § 18-6-701, applied when an adult aids, induces, or encourages someone under 18 to break the law. Neither the age nor the relationship of the minor to Velazquez has been made public. He also faces one count of reckless endangerment and one count of driving under the influence, both Class 2 misdemeanors, along with possessing an open alcoholic beverage container.
Rounding out the list, Velazquez was booked on driving a vehicle while revoked as a habitual offender. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 42-2-206, that offense carries a mandatory minimum 30-day county jail sentence or a $3,000 fine, according to FindLaw, underscoring what the charge implies about his prior driving record. He also faces failure to notify police of an accident and failure to give information after an accident, both tied to leaving the original crash scene at the Maverik station.
Booked at Garfield County Jail
Velazquez was taken to the Garfield County Detention Facility, a 193-bed jail operated by the Garfield County Sheriff's Office at 107 8th Street in Glenwood Springs. All of the charges against him remain allegations at this stage, and none have been adjudicated in court.
The case adds to a busy stretch for Rifle police, who in July investigated a smash-and-grab burglary at a local gun shop that also drew in the Garfield County Sheriff's Office — four handguns stolen in Rifle break-in. Agencies across Garfield County regularly coordinate on traffic enforcement along the I-70 corridor targeting aggressive driving and high speeds, reflecting the kind of established working relationships that allowed Monday's pursuit to end without anyone getting hurt.
