September 1, 2023
Kent Keller, PIO
Greeley Police Department
(970) 351-5387, Desk
[email protected]
GREELEY, Colo. – Many know us from our “Warrant Wednesday” posts in which we ask our community and social media followers for tips regarding wanted individuals. We pass these tips to our Special Enforcement Team (SET) and patrol officers. This series has been hugely successful for us as we almost always receive actionable tips that directly lead to the arrests of these individuals quickly. So far arresting 75% of our 2023 featured suspects.
But these aren’t the only people that SET pursues. The goal of SET is to focus on the pursuit and apprehension of our communities’ most serious and dangerous career criminals. SET also focuses on apprehending violent offenders, gang members, and assists surrounding law enforcement agencies with similar missions. Last week, SET had an amazingly productive day we wanted to share with our community.
On Tuesday, August 22, 2023, SET received a tip that wanted fugitive David Blanco, 35, was at a residence in the 1000 block of C Street. Blanco had a felony parole warrant for his arrest. SET officers gained consent to search the residence for the fugitive. During this search, they located an unrelated male hiding in the kitchen cabinet. The other male was identified as Alvaro Pineda-Guevara, 18. Officers learned Pineda-Guevara also had two active misdemeanor warrants for his arrest and was taken into custody without incident.
As this was happening, officers observed Blanco exit a basement window and flee on foot across 11th Avenue. Multiple officers pursued him on foot as he ran into the Weld County Human Service Building during normal business hours. Officers detained Blanco in the stairway of the building and after a brief standoff, he was taken into custody without further incident.
Later that day, SET officers and Greeley Police Department Property Unit detectives located wanted fugitive Gilbert Alfaro, 34. Alfaro was wanted for multiple violent felonies, which included charges of robbery, vehicular eluding, and motor vehicle theft from within Greeley. Officers and detectives conducted surveillance on his last known location at an apartment in the 100 block of 14th Avenue.
When the Alfaro exited a vehicle in the parking lot, officers moved in and took him into custody without incident. A female in the fugitive’s vehicle, later identified as 32-year-old Christina Pinon, was also contacted after his arrest, and found to have numerous warrants for her arrest. She was also taken into custody without incident on scene.
A short time later, SET officers assisted the Weld County Sheriff’s Office STRIKE Team (similar to SET) in the 1100 block of 24th Avenue. The STRIKE Team positively identified Saul Calderon-Recendiz, 35, who was wanted for Attempted Murder from a Weld County Sheriff’s Office case. Both teams and additional units surrounded a residence he was in and after another brief standoff, he exited the home and was taken into custody without further incident.
These five wanted suspects, with a total of 18 combined arrest warrants between them, were taken off the streets in a single day. Nine of the warrants were for felony crimes and nine were for misdemeanor crimes. Thank you to our community members that assist daily in our unwavering mission to Proudly Work with The Citizens to make our community a safer place. Thank you to the Weld County Sheriff’s Office STRIKE Team as well for their invaluable assistance and continued partnership.
The Special Enforcement Team is currently made up of a sergeant and three officers. The duties and goals of this unit include warrant service, the tracking, location, and apprehension our communities’ repeat and dangerous criminals, and disruption of identified criminal patterns. SET routinely works with dozens of other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and other specialized units in their pursuit to remove these people from our community.
If you have information regarding the whereabouts of any featured fugitives or any wanted individuals within Greeley, please contact SET at [email protected] or call 970-351-5324.