A person of interest is in custody in connection to a break-in at a Bayfield car wash last week.

Bayfield police, working with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, was called to the Mud Shaver Car Wash at 573 Wolverine Drive regarding an allegedly stolen dump truck that smashed into the building sometime between 3 and 4 a.m. March 8. A person took a money box with a couple hundred dollars inside, plus some other office items, Bayfield Police Chief Michael Hoguet said.

“The office area basically was destroyed because when they rammed the dump truck through the wall, it went pretty far into the building,” he said. “Then they backed out and were able to have access. A lot of stuff was destroyed inside.”

The main water line and a gas line were also broken as a result, Hoguet said.

“We were able to recover some immediate evidence, which provided us leads,” he said. “We were able to reach out to outside agencies that were dealing with the same type of criminal activity, and we were able to develop leads on possible suspects at that point.”

Bayfield Police learned the person of interest was taken into custody on Monday after a related incident involving Durango police and the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, Hoguet said.

He said he could not release more information about the person of interest, such as their name, because no charges have been filed by Bayfield police as of midday Thursday, nor did he have information about a case number because of the department’s impending transition to the region’s new computerized dispatch system. However, the department looks to obtain a warrant on the person of interest within the next week.

The person allegedly involved is still in custody at the La Plata County Jail as of Thursday afternoon, but additional information has not yet been released, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Chris Burke said.

Durango police also could not release information around midday Thursday because they did not have a name or case number to go on at the time.

mhollinshead@durangoherald.com