Denver police say a tense scene on Delgany Street ended with a backyard arrest after two residents were threatened and briefly trapped inside their home last Sunday.
District 2 officers were called to a residence in the 3000 block of Delgany Street, where investigators say a suspect attacked the door behind which two people were hiding and threatened to kill them. Before officers made it inside, the suspect allegedly took off, only to be found shortly afterward in the yard of a neighboring property. Police say officers then got the victims out without harm.
According to a Facebook post from the Denver Police Department, officers located the suspect in the neighboring yard and took them into custody. At the time of the arrest, police say they recovered a hatchet along with a large kitchen knife.
Weapons, threats and victim safety
Investigators say the suspect appeared to have stabbed the door behind which the two residents were hiding and threatened to kill them. “Officers made entry and removed the victims without harm,” the department wrote in its Denver Police Department Facebook post, which also included the standard reminder that a suspect is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
How Colorado law treats ‘menacing’
Under Colorado law, menacing is typically a misdemeanor, but it becomes a class 5 felony when it is committed with a deadly weapon, including knives or bludgeons, which can significantly increase potential penalties. That threshold and the statutory language are outlined in the Colorado Revised Statutes…