On Thursday, December 17, a police department employee observed bullet holes in several second-floor windows of the Grand Junction Police Department building, at 555 Ute Avenue. The employee immediately alerted a supervisor and further inspection revealed three bullet holes in the exterior of the building. Detectives with the Grand Junction Police Department reviewed security footage from the previous night that was captured by cameras on the exterior of the building. The footage revealed a suspect vehicle, and it was quickly determined that the vehicle matched the description of a vehicle associated to two suspects who had been arrested earlier in the day by the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, for a drive by shooting that occurred in Mesa County. More information on that can be found here. After further investigation, it was also determined that the two suspects in the same vehicle were responsible for the illegal discharge of a firearm in the 2800 block of North Avenue.
Among the charges from the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office, the two suspects will also be charged with the following in relation to the shooting and damage at the GJPD:
- Reckless endangerment – 6 counts
- Disorderly conduct – 6 counts
- Prohibited use of weapons – 6 counts
- Criminal Mischief $5,000 or more – 1 count
- Illegal discharge of a firearm – 3 counts
We are incredibly grateful that the areas of the building that were shot were unoccupied at the time and no one was injured.