Formal charges were brought Thursday in Montezuma County Court against the man who led police on a slow-speed RV chase through Cortez earlier this month.
The highest offenses that Kevin Ritter, 41, was charged with were two counts of vehicular eluding. This occurs when an individual is driving recklessly while being pursued by police officers.
There was a charge for each of the two officers pursuing him. Both are Class 5 felonies.
Ritter was charged with criminal impersonation, a Class 6 felony, for giving a false name to police.
The 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office also charged Ritter with violation of bail bond conditions, another class six felony. Ritter had previously been released on bail in regard to a case in Jefferson County in which he was accused of felony possession of a weapon by a previous offender.
Charges also included two counts of resisting arrest.
The remaining charges were violation of a protection order, reckless driving and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
The 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office filed the charges on Tuesday.
Bond was not addressed at Thursday’s hearing and remained at $50,000.
On the morning of Feb. 5, police pulled Ritter over for a traffic infraction near the Hampton Inn on Hawkins Street. Ritter fled in his RV and ran over spikes set by police, blowing a rear tire.
Officers followed Ritter in a slow-speed pursuit as he drove west along Main Street and then north along U.S. Highway 491 until he turned onto County Road Y.
Ritter’s RV got stuck in mud near the intersection of County Road Y and County Road 16, where police apprehended him without issues.
Officers from the Colorado State Patrol, Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office and Bureau of Land Management assisted Cortez police officers in the case.
Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin told The Journal earlier this month that Ritter had 11 warrants out for his arrest from Jefferson County and two others from Denver County.
Warrants had been issued for offenses that included, but were not limited to, possession of an illegal weapon, child abuse, third-degree assault, first-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
Ritter’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 18 at 10 a.m.
anicotera@the-journal.com
