Pueblo man involved in Cañon City manhunt pleads guilty to theft

By Carie Canterbury on September 25, 2024

The Pueblo man who spurred a multi-jurisdictional pursuit and citywide manhunt on Jan. 7 pleaded guilty to theft, Class 1 misdemeanor, Tuesday in Fremont County Court.

Public defender Samantha Battey said that according to the disposition, Jordan Zeigler, 20, will serve one year of supervised probation. All other charges in the case will be dropped.

Fremont County Court Judge Alexandra Robak accepted the plea; neither Zeigler nor Deputy District Attorney Zachariah Crabill made any statements.

Jordan L. Zeigler. (Booking photo - Fremont County Sheriff's Office)

Davonte Evans, 21, and Zeigler, both of Pueblo, led law enforcement on a pursuit on U.S. 50 into Cañon City at about 11 a.m. Jan. 7. The suspects were wanted for questioning by Pueblo police in connection to a homicide earlier that morning when they fled the area.

Law enforcement agencies, including the Pueblo Police Department, the Cañon City Police Department and the Fremont County Sheriff's Office pursued the suspect's vehicle, a stolen KIA sedan, at speeds more than 100 miles per hour at times as it traveled westbound on U.S. 50. The suspect vehicle then turned northbound on Raynolds Avenue and traveled into a field behind a house in the 2800 block of Central Avenue.

According to a statement of probable cause, Evans died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene, and Zeigler took off on foot, spurring a comprehensive multi-agency manhunt throughout the day, using a variety of resources, including air support.

At about 5 p.m., all of the officers that had been called in were released. Soon after, Cañon City Police Chief John Schick and Commander John Sabatino responded to a sighting of the wanted suspect on Raynolds Avenue. They stated that the man had a gun and all available units responded.

They soon learned that the gun that Zeigler possessed was stolen.

When confronted by officers, Zeigler would not identify himself, but once in custody, he agreed to speak to officers.

Zeigler was taken into custody by Schick, Sabatino and Colorado Parks and Wildlife Officer Zach Holder with the assistance of several other officers.

"Jordan started crying and informed me that Davonte kept saying that he wasn't going to do 10 years for this, and he wanted to 'shoot out with the cops,'" the affidavit states.

Pueblo man who was part of manhunt in Cañon City fails to show up for hearings

Zeigler was booked into the Fremont County Jail upon his arrest Jan. 7 on suspicion of possession of a concealed weapon and theft and was released the next day on a personal recognizance bond for the charges he faced specific to the incident in Cañon City.

In a separate Pueblo case, Ziegler was arrested on suspicion of robbery, a Class 4 felony, and motor vehicle theft – obtain/control, a Class 5 felony, from incidents stemming from Dec. 24.

He also faced charges stemming from an alleged Oct. 19 offense in Pueblo, including stalking-threat/repeated communication; stalking-threat/following/contact/surveil; and stalking-emotional distress, each a Class 5 felony, and one criminal mischief charge, a Class 2 misdemeanor. He appeared in Pueblo court after his release from Fremont County on Jan. 8 for advisement on the stalking charges; a mandatory protection order was granted and he was released without bond.

Cañon City officers receive Chief's Commendation for their efforts in the Jan. 7 high-speed police pursuit

On Jan. 14, the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office issued a warrant for Zeigler's arrest after he allegedly violated that protection order, a Class 1 misdemeanor, by contacting the victim.

Since the initial January court dates, Zeigler failed to appear for hearings at least twice in Fremont County and once in Pueblo.

Zeigler's Fremont County probation sentence will run concurrent, or at the same time, as his stalking case.

According to court records, Zeigler is slated to appear for sentencing in the stalking and robbery cases on Oct. 9 and a setting for the misdemeanor case is on Friday in Pueblo.

In February, four Cañon City police officers were awarded the Chief's Commendation Award for their "Service Excellence" related to the high-speed police pursuit. Those honored were Sgt. Ryan Belding, Cpl. Phill Snyder, Officer Bryce Bodycomb and Officer Michael Gordon, who assisted the Pueblo Police Department in the pursuit.

Schick said his team was ready and responded appropriately when law enforcement pursued the suspects' vehicle.

"The rapidly evolving event was a significant concern of violence due to charges and suspicions they were being pursued for," he said during a city council meeting. "Despite the seriousness of the volatile situation, they maintained a very calm and professional composure throughout the entire event."

Once the vehicle crashed, with split-second thinking, the officers strategically flooded the entire area surrounding where the vehicle landed to make sure the community was safe.

"This greatly limited the suspects' movements and likely prevented any of our citizens in the surrounding neighborhood from being victims to these suspects' volatile and reckless behavior," Schick said. "Their collective actions were critical to the containment and later capture of both of these dangerous felony suspects."

He also acknowledged law enforcement from the Fremont County Sheriff's Office, Pueblo Police Department, Custer County Sheriff's Office and Colorado Parks and Wildlife for their collective and robust response.

"Everybody was committed to stopping this evil that came into our community," Schick said.

During the Jan. 16 council meeting, City Administrator Ryan Stevens recognized Schick and Sabatino for their actions in locating and apprehending Zeigler.

"I just want to thank both of them for their service to the community and leading from the front," Stevens said during the meeting. "Policing is a team effort, but it's nice to know that we have leaders like Chief Schick and Commander Sabatino who are out there doing the work that their officers are doing on a daily basis, as well."