Raccoon, Amber Alert

First, I was completely disgusted with what I read in the newspaper yesterday.  The young University of Colorado student who beat a raccoon to death with a baseball bat because "he wanted it's hide" has plead guilty to the charges the City of Boulder brought against him.  That was not what upset me.  What upset me was that the man, aged 20, received a deferred sentence.  He has three months in which he must have a psychological profile completed, and, once the report is turned over to the City, the man has to serve 24 hours of community service.  That's all.  And it just disgusts me that the life of a native wild animal is held to be worth so little.
   I had planned on sleeping in this morning, but awoke a little after 6 a.m. as is usual.  I took care of the cats, took care of myself and got dressed.  Then I turned on the local news.  KUSA, our local NBC channel, was covering an Amber Alert - a mother had left her car running, and her 4-year-old son inside it, when she stepped inside a shop at a gas station.  While she watched in amazement, a man walked out of the store, got into her car and drove away.  She called 911 immediately to report her stolen son...

The man in the yellow and black jacket in the lower right hand photo was the man who took the car and the child.  Luckily, Channel 9's (KUSA) helicopter was out and about, and was able to spot the stolen red Ford. They contacted the Colorado Highway Patrol, as well as multiple police departments.  The vehicle was originally stolen in Longmont, at 6:20 in the morning.  The man drove at speeds of up to 100 mph, and very erratically - and led officers on a long chase.  He drove the wrong way on the Interstate, and on regular streets; he drove in emergency lanes, on median strips, across median strips, through traffic lights and stop signs.  At one point in time, he drove into an industrial area, and ended up driving over the curb and down a hillside to get back onto a major road - all with the four-year-old in the backseat.  I felt glued to the television - hoping there would be no catastrophic collision, and that the boy would survive.  There were several close calls - the man might, or might not have, brushed guard rails, several vehicles and trucks - and he kept an incredibly high rate of speed.   Police did NOT chase him, fearing it would endanger the child even more.  The man drove all over Denver, in and out of business areas and along the Interstates.  Finally, after the police had tried to get puncture sticks in front of the vehicle multiple times, the man suddenly slowed and stopped in front of a gold van on a highway ramp. (See photo at bottom left) He jumped out of the red vehicle, and ran to the driver's door of the gold van; the door opened, and a man scrambled out, at the same time a woman was jumping out of the front passenger seat.  It appeared the first man had a weapon of some type. The car-jacker then took the gold van for another 15 minutes of high speed driving, around the outskirts of Denver.  Police and the Highway Patrol had been closing on-ramps to the Interstate system to reduce traffic - the man was now driving the van at between 90 and 95 mph, passing vehicles on the right, left, and in emergency lanes.  It appeared that he clipped several other vehicles in close quarters as he passed them.  Then he went on an off-ramp, and entered a large intersection, striking another smaller vehicle.  The man got out the van, ran around it, looking at it and the other vehicle - then he got back into the van and drove off again - with a burst tire and the van engine smoking.  He got onto another ramp leading onto the Interstate, and then slowed abruptly, stopping in front of a third car - a silver compact.  For some reason, the driver opened the door for the man - he tossed a woman with long brown hair out out of the car, and again, sped away in another stolen car.  In less than three minutes, however, he found himself in a major intersection and could not avoid a crash.  He struck one car, and two more struck the silver compact; pieces of fender and hood flew through the air.  But the man already had his door open, and he ran away, darting into an office and retail section.  He removed his yellow and black jacket, and continued running away from police (who were on his tail in a black SUV), seeming to look for a running car in the parking lot.  He finally tried to climb a chain link fence to escape.  He failed.  He was handcuffed at about 8:15 - less than two hours after it all began. He was taken away in an ambulance, strapped to it, but being verbally abusive to officers, and still trying to escape from his restraints.  Everyone's unanswered question is whether or not there was a child in the silver compact that he stole last....  and, if so, was that child hurt in the crash....   There were phone calls from the second couple, who owned the gold van, stating there was no one else in the car.  No word on the silver compact occupancy.   I feel completely exhausted from watching the helicopter coverage of a non-chase scenario......

  The 4-year-old boy, Allen, is safe, unharmed and has just been reunited with his parents outside of Parker.

  ***  Ryan Cole Stone, aged 28, was the man arrested by police for this offense.  Stone was wanted on an arrest warrant in Arapahoe County for dangerous drugs.  He has a long criminal history and has served time in prison for menacing and weapons charges. ***