Bail bondsman Clint Simmons faces two felony and two misdemeanor charges in Montezuma County Court after shooting fugitive Freedom Anderson of Durango during a struggle in Cortez.
Although Simmons was not arrested at the scene, the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s office plans to officially charge him with second-degree felony assault, felony menacing, misdemeanor prohibited use of a weapon and misdemeanor reckless endangerment.
Simmons is scheduled for a return filing of charges, arraignment and preliminary hearing Jan. 6 at 10 a.m. at Montezuma County Combined Courts. That court date was pushed back from Dec. 15.
Simmons, 61, told police he accidentally shot Anderson, 26, with a .40 caliber Glock at 510 E. Arbecam Ave., about a block northwest of Kemper Elementary School.
Simmons involved Cortez police officers and two of his bonding agents in the pursuit of Anderson, who he told police had jumped bail, according to the police report.
Simmons and his agents struggled with Anderson at the Arbecam Avenue home, after Simmons informed Anderson that he was under arrest and instructed him to move to the ground. Anderson ran, and Simmons caught up with him and tried to restrain him.
Simmons’ Glock fired during the struggle. Simmons told police that he thought he saw Anderson reach behind his back – perhaps for a weapon – but officers did not find a weapon.
Anderson had a previous criminal history. At the time of the shooting, he had arrest warrants in La Plata County for vehicular eluding, obstructing an officer, reckless endangerment and misdemeanor larceny, according to the police report.
He was arrested in Denver Nov. 3 on a fugitive hold for another jurisdiction, as well as for possession of a Schedule 4 controlled substance and criminal mischief.
Simmons was involved in a similar incident in December 2010 when he fired his gun –also a .40 caliber Glock – while attempting to arrest a wanted man in the 20000 block of County Road 19. Simmons told police he fired the shots at the ground while chasing the man, but the man argued that Simmons pointed his gun at him, although he was not struck by the bullets, according to a Montezuma County Sheriff’s report.
Simmons told police he carried the gun for safety, and that the chase took place in tall grass. At the time, Simmons told officers he always assumes a wanted subject is also carrying a weapon, the report said. The report did not specify whether the wanted man carried a weapon.
Simmons was charged with Class 3 misdemeanor reckless endangerment for the incident, but in 2011, the DA’s office dismissed the charges.
The Journal has reached out to Cortez Police Chief Vernon Knuckles for comment, but he has not responded.
The witness list for the latest case includes eight members of the Cortez Police Department, a member of the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office and an employee of Southwest Memorial Hospital. It also includes a member of the Wheat Ridge Police Department, which might have been in contact with Anderson after he was flown to the Denver area for wound care.
Residents of East Arbecam Avenue also are on the witness list — including Chad P. Blackmore and Elizabeth Ann Rogers.
Blackmore was arrested Nov. 4 in Phoenix on suspicion that he was heading a drug trafficking operation out of his residence on Arbecam Avenue in Cortez. According to the Montezuma-Cortez Narcotics Investigation Team, Blackmore is suspected of having transported thousands of fentanyl pills into Montezuma County since January.
The Sept. 30 shooting occurred at Blackmore’s residence. When Simmons enlisted the help of Cortez police in apprehending Anderson, he told them that a phone call would cause Anderson to travel to Blackmore’s residence from a trailer at Sikis Village Mobile Home, 321 S. Broadway.
Rogers, who was arrested Sept. 1 on suspicion of drug possession and distribution, has listed the East Arbecam home as her address.
Rogers is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 13 for a sentencing hearing beginning at 2 p.m.
Neither Blackmore nor Rogers are in custody at the Montezuma County Detention Center.
Simmons’ wife, Sherry Simmons, is scheduled for a jury trial beginning Wednesday, at 3 p.m, and continuing Thursday at 8 a.m., in Division 1 under Judge JenniLynn Lawrence at Montezuma County Combined Courts.
Sherry Simmons, a leader of the Montezuma County Patriots, is charged with third-degree misdemeanor harassment for following a person in public during a verbal confrontation between members of the Montezuma County Patriots and the Justice and Peace group Jan. 2, according to a police report.
