A Cortez man was arrested Aug. 15 after firing multiple rounds during a standoff with police at a residence on Ridge Drive, according to a Cortez Police Department incident report.
Carl Ransdell was identified as the individual allegedly involved in the altercation. Officers responded to the residence after Ransdell’s wife called police. She said Ransdell had called and told her someone had been in the home since earlier that morning and police were inside shooting at him.
Officers Jerry Sam and Karla Ross were the first to arrive on scene, where they found a shattered sliding glass door on an upper floor after knocking on another door with no answer. When Sam looked through the partially opened blinds near the shattered door, he said he could see Ransdell sitting in a doorway of a small room. He was reportedly holding a handgun.
Sam, according to information in the report, identified himself as a police officer and ordered Ransdell to put the gun down and come outside. Ransdell allegedly refused, saying that someone had broken into the house that morning. As Sam communicated with dispatchers, a gunshot was fired in his direction, missing him by only a few feet. Sam and Ross backed down the stairs to get cover.
Officer Andrew Archer arrived to assist. Ransdell fired another round as Sam briefed Archer. Sam took cover behind a lower wall on the property and requested additional units. Soon, two Mancos marshals and two Montezuma County deputies arrived to assist.
Ransdell reportedly fired at least one more round in an unknown direction. Detective Lt. Angelo Martinez was contacted and took over command of the scene after his arrival.
Attempts were made to contact Ransdell via phone. After detective Trevor Robertson discharged several rounds of less-lethal chemical munitions, Ransdell allegedly surrendered and was arrested.
Following his arrest, he was evaluated by EMS on scene and accompanied by Ross to Southwest Memorial Hospital.
Officers entered the residence to investigate and determined that 14 rounds had been fired inside the room where Ransdell had been located. Several of those had struck the wall where Sam and Ross had been standing. A 9 mm Kimber Micro 9 handgun, spent casings, brown magazine holster and two loaded magazines were recovered by officers Kolton Guttridge and Jacob Bourdon.
The incident, which began in the late afternoon, was completed about 8:16 p.m.
Ransdell is scheduled for return filing of charges at 9 a.m. Aug. 27 in the 22nd Judicial District’s Montezuma Combined Courts. He will appear in Courtroom 4.
bduran@the-journal.com
