A second person has been arrested two weeks after a pursuit with Douglas County law enforcement that ended in a car crash that killed two people.
Mario Juan Jose, 24, is being held on a $1 million bond in connection to the Feb. 6 chase that spilled onto Santa Fe Drive in Littleton. The Denver Police Department arrested him Tuesday afternoon.
A release from the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said Jose was driving the car that initially sparked the events of the evening that turned deadly.
Around 2:30 a.m. on Feb. 6, a deputy spotted a silver Jeep in the Castle Pines area, and nearby, saw another car in a driveway with its domelight on. Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said there have been "a lot" of car thefts, as well as thefts out of cars, in the area, which tipped off the deputy and gave her a reason to follow the Jeep as it pulled away.
After following the Jeep for a little while, that deputy attempted to pull it over. Spurlock said it seemed like the driver - now identified by deputies as Jose - was going to comply before speeding off and continuing to drive "erratically and dangerously" northbound on Highway 85 near Daniels Park Road.
When the deputy realized the driver of the Jeep was not going to stop, she called for backup. Other law enforcement officers responded and set up stop sticks and secured intersections in an attempt to stop the vehicle, which Spurlock said was brake-checking deputies and swerving.
As one of the deputies was waiting for the Jeep to drive by northbound, a black Mitsubishi sped by him going the wrong way on Santa Fe. That deputy attempted to follow that car, but it was several miles ahead of him and crashed into a passing car at the intersection of South Santa Fe Drive and East Mineral Avenue before the deputy could make contact with it.
After that crash, deputies stopped to respond to the crash and the Jeep sped away. Investigators found the Jeep later that day abandoned in a shopping area with a blown-out tire. It was stolen from Castle Pines, Spurlock believes, just moments before the pursuit began. Jose is being charged with stealing the car, a felony.
The driver of the Mitsubishi, identified as law enforcement by 20-year-old Deanna Bixby, was taken into custody after the crash. That Mitsubishi had been reported stolen from Aurora two days prior.
Jayne Frances Davicsin, 25, and Ryan Scott Carter, 27, were in the car hit by the Mitsubishi. They both died from injuries sustained in the crash, according to the Arapahoe County Coroner's Office.
Jose faces a litany of charges as he is held on a $1 million bond at the Douglas County Detention Facility including aggravated motor vehicle theft, vehicular eluding, first-degree criminal trespass, violation of bail bond conditions and driving under restraint.
Jose's mugshot is not being released at this time due to the active investigation as well as to allow DPD to investigate their charges, according to a release.
