PARKER, Colo. — A man police said was involved in a deadly hit-and-run crash that happened while he was fleeing from a shoplifting incident earlier this week in in Parker has been arrested.
Parker Police identified the suspect late Wednesday as 44-year-old Tory Conyers and said he was taken into custody with the help of the Aurora Police Department's SWAT team. Aurora Police posted on social media that they assisted Parker Police with a "barricaded person" in the 2300 block of Dayton Street. They eventually threw a "distraction device" into the home which caused a loud bang.
Just after 8 p.m. Wednesday, APD said the man, identified as Conyers, was in custody but was taken to the hospital for treatment due to exposure of "chemical irritants."
Conyers is believed to the person who took items from a Parker Walmart around 8:30 p.m. on Monday. After leaving the store, Parker Police followed him for a while on Parker Road but then turned off their lights and sirens and did a U-Turn when he failed to pull over.
Not long after, according to Parker Police, he ran a red light at Lincoln Avenue and struck a man who was crossing the road in a designated crosswalk. The man has been identified as 49-year-old Jossy Pinto.
A witness who didn't want to be identified said she was in the turning lane of the intersection when a white car drove through.
"It was traveling at a very high speed and hit a gentleman who was going on the crosswalk," she said. "I turned because I was like, 'Is this person going to stop?' because of hitting someone, and they just kept going. I mean I didn’t even see brake lights on them. They just continued on, high speed. Left him there."
Police put out a Medina Alert with a description of the vehicle involved and its license plate. They also provided photos of the suspect, now identified as Conyers, taken from Walmart security cameras. Parker Police said late Wednesday that Conyers was arrested with assistance from the Aurora Police Department SWAT team.
Anyone with information about the case should contact Parker Police at 303-841-9800.
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