Two people suspected of being responsible for the November shooting near Westcliffe are being extradited back to Colorado. Hanme Clark was extradited on Wednesday, and Nancy Medina-Kochis was sent back earlier this week.
Both individuals were arrested in November for their alleged involvement in the triple murder Northeast of Westcliffe. Investigators said both were on the run and arrested a day after the murders. The three victims are Bob Geers, Beth Geers and James Daulton. A fourth person, Daulton's wife, Patty, was wounded, but she survived.
The Custer County Sheriff, Rich Smith, said they worked alongside several other law enforcement agencies to find both Medina-Kochis and Clark.
“I got calls from Pueblo Sheriff, Chaffee Sheriff, Park County Sheriff, all offering to help for us,” Sheriff Smith said.
In Chaffee County, the Salida Police Department assisted in the search. One commander with the Salida Police Department said once they learned the license plate number of the vehicle, one officer checked their Flock Safety cameras to see if the truck had been spotted. The Flock Safety system is a network of cameras set up in several locations across the country.
Salida Police said hours after the incident in Custer County, the flock cameras showed the suspects truck in a Walmart parking lot in town. The suspects were then spotted in New Mexico, where they were later arrested.
“The US Marshall for Colorado, that his team and the New Mexico State Police captured our suspect near Albuquerque, New Mexico,” Sheriff Smith said.
Franklyn Ortega, a Sgt. and Public Information Officer with the Pueblo Police Department said they also have access to Flock Safety cameras. Sgt. Ortega said they have access to cameras through the downtown association, a neighborhood association, and an apartment complex in Pueblo. He said the camera’s help detectives find stolen vehicles.
“You could put alerts in there and say, you know, I'm looking for a specific plate or a specific color of a car and it just runs those through for you and it shows you those vehicles. Sometimes that's useful because all you have is a blue whatever,” Sgt. Ortega said.
Sgt. Ortega said it's fairly simple. With a few clicks, police can see what cars have driven through downtown and when.
“We want them to know that they're being watched, but we don't want them to know exactly where they're being watched,” Sgt. Ortega said.
He said when a crime occurs, the cameras help police backtrack.
“There's been times where we used it too, where we're investigating a crime where, you know, obviously it's already happened. But then, we start using the cameras to say 'well, was he over here or was he over there or where was this person prior to the crime,'” Sgt. Ortega said.
They can also access other law enforcement cameras in Colorado to help them during searches or investigations.
“That's the thing with (Colorado) Springs and Pueblo, there's a lot of interchangeable crime where we have people that steal vehicles here, go to (Colorado) Springs, commit crimes, steal vehicles in (Colorado) Springs, and then come back,” Ortega said.
They can also request access to Flock Safety cameras in other states.
A spokesperson for Flock Safety, Holly Beilin said the flock license plate reader are license plate reader (LPR) cameras.
“They're motion-activated cameras that capture a picture of the back of the vehicle and of course, the license plate. The software on the cameras then compares that plate to different state and National Crime databases. So if it's a stolen vehicle or no wanted offender, it alerts local law enforcement immediately,” Beilin said.
Beilin said the cameras will save the image of the vehicle in order for law enforcement to use it later in an investigation if they need.
“So one unique thing about LPR cameras is that this evidence is completely objective. It's a license plate number. It's a vehicle. These are details not subjected to the inherent human bias that a lot of other sorts of traditional methods of investigation have. So, we use that objective actionable evidence that law enforcement are able to use to help solve,” Beilin said.
Beilin said Flock Safety works with over 3,000 law enforcement agencies across the U.S.
“We're helping law enforcement with this technology solve over 9% of reported crime in the U.S. and that's really everything from homicides, assaults, sexual crimes all the way to property crimes like robberies,” Beilin said.
She said there is a wide range of crime that can be committed in a vehicle.
“The license plate reader cameras are able to provide one of the most useful investigative tools that a detective can actually have if law enforcement wants to be able to solve crime,” Beilin said.
Flock Safety cameras can be placed in a number of different places. Beilin said local law enforcement decides where to put the cameras based on a number of different factors, such as crime patterns and trends. She said a common place for cameras to be is near highway exits.
UPDATE: Hanme Clark has returned to Colorado Custer County in Westcliffe, Colo. on Jan. 14 an extradition team returned Clark from New Mexico to the Pueblo County Jail. Clark is facing the following charges: 3 counts of 1st Degree Murder, 1 count of Attempted 1st Degree Murder, 1 count of 1st Degree Assault with a deadly weapon, and 1 count of Attempted First Degree Assault with a deadly weapon.
The advisement and bond hearing for Hanme Clark was held Thursday afternoon as Clark appeared before Judge Lynette Wenner.
In his advisement, Clark was appointed a public defender and the issue of his bond was addressed. Judge Wenner set a $2 million cash bond for Clark's release and established a mandatory protection order in place for the victims and witnesses of the alleged crime.
Clark's case will be moving forward as a motions hearing was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on January 24th, when we can expect Clark to appear in person at the Custer County Courthouse.
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