Two crashed vehicles and a cache of stolen liquor were discovered on Red Mountain Wednesday morning. Local authorities believe the cars — both pickup trucks — were stolen and crashed in succession by the same thief or thieves.
The first was taken from a parking lot on Lone Pine Road and crashed on the roadside of West Reds Road, where it was abandoned. Investigators said they found backpacks loaded with liquor stolen from the same apartment complex from which the truck was stolen.
Another truck was then taken from a nearby home, police say, and quickly also crashed and abandoned.
No arrests have been made for the thefts, but investigator Ron Ryan said police have suspects and hope to begin interviewing them today.
In other local crime news:
— The driver who struck an oncoming car head-on on Two Rivers Road in Basalt last Thursday was arrested and jailed promptly after his release from Valley View Hospital Wednesday night.
Oscar Canas Portillo is facing two counts of vehicular assault along with driving under the influence and driving under restraint. He was allegedly drunk and on drugs when he drifted over the center line and struck the oncoming car.
The couple in the car Portillo struck remain in critical condition at Denver Health Medicine Center.
— A 63-year-old Vermont man landed in more than merely driving trouble when he got his car stuck on a median at the Snowmass Village Mall on Sunday evening.
A patrol officer reported seeing large plumes of smoke emanating from the mall. Then a bus driver reported that a driver had high-centered his car on the median, burning rubber on his tires as he tried to wriggle off.
Responding police say they smelled alcohol on the driver, Brian Robinson, and that he failed a roadside sobriety test. He was arrested for drunken driving.
— A drunken scuffle between two Basalt neighbors led to one man’s arrest late Monday night. Police say Mark Cheesman was drinking in his Valley Pines home with a neighbor when the fight broke out.
“They were getting kind of wasted and Mark wanted (the alleged victim) to leave,” said Basalt Sgt. Stewart Curry. “He started using some force to get him out and ended up punching him in the face.”
Cheesman is facing a harassment charge.
— Compiled by Andrew Travers