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A Penrose man wanted on robbery and weapons charges was arrested Monday after a weeks-long standoff and multi-agency investigation.<\/p>\n
According to the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office CrimeWatch page, on July 24, the Colorado Springs Police Department responded to an address in Colorado Springs to investigate a domestic violence incident. The investigation led to an arrest warrant being issued for James Neely, 39, of Penrose, charged with aggravated robbery, menacing, possession of a weapon by a previous felon and stalking.<\/p>\n
Information from the domestic violence investigation revealed that Neely had a conversion device used to transform a semi-automatic firearm into a machine gun. Further information also suggested that Neely was in possession of additional firearms in violation of state and federal law, as Neely had previously been convicted of multiple felonies.<\/p>\n
In response to reports of firearms, the Armed Violent Offender Task Force consisted of detectives and officers from the CSPD, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Corrections\/Parole Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the The FBI continued the firearms investigation and obtained a search warrant for Neely’s residence located in the 1300 block of L Street in Penrose.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the task force asked the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team to execute a search warrant at the L Street address. Intelligence revealed that Neely was present at the residence, but barricaded himself inside when police arrived.<\/p>\n
After several hours of negotiation and the introduction of chemical agents into the residence, Neely surrendered and was taken into custody without incident. Neely was treated for chemical exposure at a local hospital and later booked into the Fremont County Detention Center.<\/p>\n
This is an ongoing investigation.<\/p>\n