Man takes plea deal in connection with Longmont chase

Mitchell Byars, Daily Camera, Boulder, Colo.
·2 min read

Aug. 11—A man accused of leading police on a vehicle chase through Weld and Boulder counties has taken a plea deal in his case.

Ramon Orlando Lara, 38, pleaded guilty Thursday in Boulder District Court to felony menacing and DUI — second offense, a Class 5 felony and a misdemeanor respectively.

As part of the plea agreement, attorneys said Lara will be sentenced to community corrections if he is approved during a pre-sentence investigation. If he is not approved for community corrections, the sentence would be open to the court and could involve probation or up to three years in prison on the felony menacing count.

Lara's attorney James Merson said Lara also has a pending extortion and weapon case in Weld County related to the incident, but Merson said it is likely that case will be resolved and any sentence would be served concurrently with his Boulder County sentence.

Lara, who remains free on bond, is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 21.

According to an arrest affidavit, the incident on June 22, 2021, started in Mead when Lara was driving a Chevrolet pickup truck and had reportedly told a woman he was going to kill someone in Longmont.

Longmont police found Lara driving in the truck shortly before noon, but police said he refused to pull over for emergency vehicles and displayed a handgun, which he held to his head.

Officers followed the pickup and successfully deployed a tire deflation device near 19th Avenue and Main Street. After striking the tire deflation device, Lara continued to drive northbound on Main Street and then eastbound on Colo. 66 until the truck went off the south side of the road, just east of the railroad tracks.

At that point, police said, Lara got out of the truck and again pointed the handgun at his head. Officers closed Colo. 66 in both directions, set a perimeter and started negotiations in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.

According to the affidavit, Lara eventually placed the gun on the rear tire of the vehicle as officers continued to try to convince him to surrender. When Lara attempted to retrieve the firearm again, an officer shot him with two beanbag rounds in the stomach and hand.

Shortly after the beanbag strikes and a threat to release a K9, Lara surrendered and was taken into custody and was transported to an area hospital with a fracture to his hand from one of the beanbag rounds.

Police found several boxes of ammunition and a recently opened beer in the vehicle, according to the affidavit.