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Craig Police Department vehicles collide while responding to call

Joe Moylan
Wesley Dean West
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Quotable

“The call was a domestic with shots fired. That’s why they were in a hurry.”

— Craig Police Chief Walt Vanatta

Quotable

“The call was a domestic with shots fired. That’s why they were in a hurry.”

— Craig Police Chief Walt Vanatta

Craig Police Department officers responded last week to a report of a domestic dispute with gun shots fired. The call was received at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.



Two police department patrol cars responded to the scene at 3408 Essex Court in the Ridgeview subdivision.

When officers arrived, suspect Wesley Dean West, 51, of Craig, admitted he had fired three shots into the air to scare a neighbor’s dogs, Craig Police Chief Walt Vanatta said.



West was taken into custody and booked into Moffat County Jail on suspicion of reckless endangerment and prohibited use of a weapon, both misdemeanors. He was released on $750 bond the same day.

Formal charges have not yet been filed in Moffat County Court.

Further details about the incident were not available as of Sunday, Vanatta said, because he was in Colorado Springs at the time of the incident.

Police Commander Jerry Delong responded to the scene and is leading the investigation, Vanatta said.

Though Delong could not be reached Sunday for comment, Vanatta said he was expecting Delong’s report later Monday.

A second investigation connected to the incident is currently under way and is being conducted by the Colorado State Patrol.

Trooper Joshua Lewis, public information officer with CSP in Denver, said during the course of responding to the call, the two Craig Police Department patrol cars collided with each other upon their arrival at the scene. Involved in the crash was a 2003 Ford Explorer and a 2008 Ford Expedition, according to CSP reports.

A third civilian vehicle, a 2012 Ford Escape, was involved in a non-contact role, Lewis said.

Details on the crash and the ongoing investigation also were limited during the weekend.

“I don’t have any details as to who crashed into who, at what time and how at this point,” Lewis said. “The only other information I have is there were no injuries reported.”

The CSP report also is expected to be filed later Monday, Lewis said.

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