Burglary Suspect Arrested After Calling Uber to Flee Crime Scene: Cops

A burglary suspect in Colorado was apprehended at the crime scene after he attempted to flee using an Uber, according to local police.

Police body camera footage shared to social media on December 29 by the Wheat Ridge Police Department shows the bust. Police said the alleged crimes and subsequent arrest occurred the day prior at a business in the city of Wheat Ridge, Colorado, which is less than 10 miles from Denver.

In an email to Newsweek on Wednesday, the Wheat Ridge Police Department confirmed the suspect is 26-year-old Jose Guadalupe.

An image of police vehicle lights. A burglary suspect was arrested last week after he tried to use an Uber to flee.
Getty

In a post sharing the footage to both Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, the Wheat Ridge Police Department said they wouldn’t recommend using a rideshare service as a getaway vehicle.

“It may not be the best idea to have an Uber pick you up AT the crime scene,” Wheat Ridge police posted on Facebook.

It may not be the best idea to have an Uber pick you up AT the crime scene.
Thursday night, Wheat Ridge Police Officers responded to a burglary call at…

Police were called to a reported burglary at Blue Sky Plumbing in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, according to the department’s statement on social media last week. The person who called 911 said they saw a hole in the business’s fence and had surveillance footage of a man stealing tools.

When Wheat Ridge officers arrived at the scene, they contacted an Uber driver “who was waiting in the area,” according to the statement. The driver told the officers that he was there to give a ride to a man named “Jose” who was at Blue Sky Plumbing and currently walking to the vehicle.

“Wheat Ridge Police Officers intercepted the man, who provided a fake name and were able to find a backpack with more than $8,600 worth of Milwaukee brand tools,” the department said in the statement. “The suspect was taken back to the police department, where fingerprint scanners confirmed his real identity.”

The body camera footage shows the man, later identified as Perez-Gallardo, denying that he was waiting for a ride after being asked if he was “looking for an Uber.”

“Uh, no,” Perez-Gallardo said in the clip before putting his hands in his pockets.

As he appears to try and leave, police order him to stop. Once the man is in custody, officers inform him that he matches the description of a suspect. The man tells officers that he does not have identification and that he is on his way to his mother’s house.

The police department is recommending that the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office of Colorado charge the burglary suspect with felony theft as well as misdemeanor charges.

Brionna Boatright, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office told Newsweek in an email that she was unable to comment on the case while it’s still pending but she confirmed that Perez-Gallardo was formally charged Wednesday.

Boatright said that Perez-Gallardo is facing six charges, including felony theft, first-degree criminal trespass, possession of burglary tools, criminal mischief, false reporting to authorities and second-degree criminal trespass.

A judge ordered a $5,000 bond, Boatright said.

Update 1/3/24, 11:55 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with information from the Wheat Ridge Police Department and Boatright.