Damien Staley, Arrested With Fentanyl After Denver Incident, On The Run Again
DENVER (CBS4) - A 39-year-old man who was arrested after fleeing police in a stolen car and found in possession of 200 fentanyl pills was released on a $200 cash bond by a judge last week - one dollar per dose.
He skipped this week's Denver County court hearing.
Damien Staley also did not show up at Thursday's hearing in Adams County in another vehicle theft and drug possession case.
"According to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration lab testing," the Denver Police Department stated in a Facebook post describing the incident, "four out of every 10 counterfeit pills with Fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose."
DPD's Facebook post explained how the driver of an SUV sped away from downtown officers on June 4. The department's helicopter, Air1, was airborne at the time and followed the SUV to 78th Avenue and Washington Street. There, when the driver got out of the SUV, he was quickly surrounded by officers and taken into custody.
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The Denver District Attorney's Office confirmed to CBS4 that Damien Staley was the man arrested in the incident. He was advised of felony drug possession, vehicle theft and eluding charges the same day he was arrested.
His bond was set at $2,000 property or surety (when a third party accepts financial liability). He was also given a $200 cash option.
Staley paid it and was released.
Staley missed a case hearing on June 10. A Failure To Appear warrant was issued Tuesday.
Staley had paid a $1,500 cash bond to get out of the Adams County jail after his earlier arrest there. He didn't show up for a preliminary hearing in May and missed another hearing today.
Aside from those cases, Staley has six prior arrests in Adams, Boulder and Weld counties. He sentences have included jail time.
(CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story named Judge Erick Englert as the presiding judge who set Staley's bond following his Denver arrest. That was incorrect. That bond was set by Magistrate Greg Rawlings. CBS Denver regrets the error.)
