DENVER — Four Denver Sheriff deputies are under investigation after an inmate in the process of being transferred from the Downtown Detention Center to the Denver County Jail is accused of attempted escape on Sept. 2, the Department of Public Safety confirmed Tuesday.
Damian Lynch, 24, is accused of trying to escape by hiding under a Sheriff Dept. transport vehicle and fleeing into a drainage tunnel at about 9:45 a.m. that day, according to a Denver Police (DPD) probable cause statement.
Denver Sheriff deputies, with assistance from DPD, caught Lynch after chasing him into the tunnel where Cherry Creek, Market and Speer all converge, the PC statement says.
The PC statement says Lynch resisted arrest when deputies tried to put him back in custody, and that they had to use physical force, including a taser. Lynch was in custody on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder, according to the Denver DA's Office.
Deputies initially noticed Lynch after, according to the PC statement, he was able to get out of the transport vehicle and a deputy saw him hiding under the vehicle after he had escaped from inside it, at which point the PC statement says he tried to run away.
The Denver Sheriff Dept. said the incident is currently an open investigation and additional information cannot be provided. The Denver Dept. of Public Safety also declined to provide additional details about the investigation into the four deputies.
Lynch is currently being held at the Downtown Detention Center for investigation of charges that include:
- Attempted first-degree murder after deliberation
- Felony menacing
- Possession of a weapon by a previous offender
- Resisting arrest
- Failure to appear
- Second-degree assault/serious bodily injury with a weapon
- Escape.
The DA said he has officially been charged with:
- Three counts of attempted first-degree murder
- One count of second-degree assault
- One count of possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
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