Suspect Patricia Rodriguez allegedly tries to take Fort Collins officer hostage with his own gun at Larimer County Jail
A woman was already being taken to jail when she pulled a stunt that now has her facing more charges.
Patricia Rodriguez, 38, of Greeley is accused of stealing a Fort Collins officer's gun and barricading herself in a jail area on Sunday after she was accused of shoplifting.
According to the Larimer County Sheriff's Office press release, Rodriguez was being taken to Larimer County Jail by a Fort Collins police officer after she had been arrested in connection to shoplifting at a store in southeast Fort Collins. Officers had originally responded to the report of the shoplifting around 4 p.m.
After entering the sally port at the county jail, the arresting officer was going to remove Rodriguez from his patrol car. The sheriff's office says the officer's gun was secure at the time; however, when he was taking Rodriguez out of the car, he discovered she had slipped out from under her handcuffs. Then, she was able to take the officer's from the holster and tried to take him hostage. But he was able to get away safely to the booking area of the jail.
LCSO says Rodriguez then barricaded herself in the patrol car, refusing to get out. Multiple agencies responded to the jail to negotiate with Rodriguez. Several "less-lethal tools" were implemented by law enforcement officers to get her to surrender.
After about two and a half hours, Rodriguez finally got out of the police vehicle around 7:30 p.m. and let officers take her into custody. She was treated by EMS and then booked into jail.
Rodriguez faces charges for:
- First Degree Assault (F3)
- First Degree Aggravated Robbery (F3)
- Attempted Second Degree Kidnapping (F4)
- Criminal Mischief - $5,000-$19,999 (F5)
- Disarming a Peace Officer (F6)
- Resisting Arrest (M2)
Fort Collins Police is expected to file separate charges for the initial theft incident.
