Police fail to provide reason for Fort Collins man’s arrest

On behalf of David Lindsey, Attorney at Law posted in Sex Crimes on Thursday, July 21, 2011.

If a person has any kind of criminal record, he or she may not be afforded the benefit of the doubt if police suspect involvement in a crime. In a recent Colorado case, after “monitoring” a 31-year-old Fort Collins man who has been convicted of burglary in the past, police jumped at the opportunity to arrest him in connection with a sexual assault that took place in early July. So far, however, police have failed to provide a reason for arresting him for the crime.

The sexual assault charges, however, are not the only thing that police are going after him for. Police allege that he set fire to the home where he allegedly committed sexual assault against a woman on July 5. For that, he has also been charged with arson and attempted first-degree murder.

The man has been linked to multiple burglaries that took place years ago when he was 18. After spending time in an alternative-sentence program, the man was moved to a psychological unit for reported “distorted thinking.”

In this recent sex crime, police allege that the man entered the woman’s home, assaulted her and then lit the home on fire. After leaving the home, he supposedly stole her vehicle and left the scene. The woman, still inside, escaped the burning building by jumping out of a window. She was hospitalized for injuries sustained.

The charges against the man are as follows: sexual assault, arson, first-degree assault, attempted first-degree murder and motor vehicle theft. All of the charges are felonies.

Police have not given any reasons for why the Fort Collins man is a suspect in the assault. All they have said is that he happened to be in the same area as the attack the day it took place.

Source: The Coloradoan, “Man accused of sex assault, arson,” Trevor Hughes, 13 July 2011