A shirtless male teenager allegedly smashed walls and windows inside Soda Lakes Lodge with wooden boards this past Wednesday before grabbing paddleboards and fleeing across the water with another male teen. The bizarre escape attempt on Big Soda Lake at Bear Creek Lake Park in Lakewood didn’t get either suspect very far, and both were taken into custody after paddling out to the middle of the lake.
According to CBS Colorado, Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputies responded after Lakewood Park Rangers reported the shirtless male was inside the lodge yelling and smashing walls and windows with two-by-fours. As reported by the Denver Gazette, the incident happened Wednesday, when park rangers first placed the call to county law enforcement. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office described the call as anything but ordinary, per the station’s report.
A Getaway That Never Had a Chance
Soda Lakes Lodge sits along the swim beach at Big Soda Lake, where commercial vendor Rocky Mountain Paddleboard rents out stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, canoes, and pedal boats to visitors during its May-through-September season, according to Visit Denver. That’s apparently where the two teens grabbed the paddleboards they used in their attempted getaway. But Big Soda Lake is restricted strictly to non-motorized craft such as paddleboards and kayaks, unlike the larger, 100-acre Bear Creek Lake nearby, which permits motorized watercraft, per Uncover Colorado.
That restriction meant Lakewood Park Rangers and Jefferson County deputies had to bring in a patrol boat of their own to reach the two suspects paddling out toward the middle of the lake. The sheriff’s office thanked park rangers for helping deputies reach the pair, according to the same account from CBS Colorado. Both teens were eventually returned to shore and taken into custody.
Felony Charges Loom for Both Teens
The two teens now face charges of burglary and criminal trespass, per the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 18-4-203, second-degree burglary involving a commercial building is classified as a Class 4 felony, a charge that can carry a presumptive sentence of two to six years in state prison for adult offenders, according to Justia Law. A related second-degree criminal trespass charge under § 18-4-503 applies to unauthorized entry into non-residential public or commercial properties, per Colorado.Public.Law…