EL PASO COUNTY GUNMAN WAS PART OF CAR-THEFT RING
The man killed in a shootout that left a deputy dead was part of a car-theft ring.
Before allegedly starting a shootout that left a deputy dead and three other law officers and a bystander wounded, Manuel Zetina had a few minor run-ins with the law, but members of an elite car-theft task force had him under surveillance and knew he could be dangerous, officials say.
Nothing in the 19-year-old’s scant criminal record foretold a propensity to unload a barrage of bullets at law enforcement officers, according to El Paso County court records. The biggest thing on Zetina’s record was a misdemeanor drug-paraphernalia charge.
But Zetina was on the radar of Beat Auto Theft Through Law Enforcementa, or BATTLE, a cartheft task force. Members of the elite detective group had Zetina under surveillance. They believed he was one of several prolific car thieves that have caused an 18 percent increase in car thefts in Colorado Springs over a four-year period, police Lt. Howard Black said Wednesday.
“We clearly had an interest in him and were actively doing surveillance,” Black said. “We definitely had information that he was doing auto theft.”
Zetina’s record also didn’t suggest to the experienced task force detectives that he was not dangerous, Black said. As it turned out, Zetina was armed with a semi-automatic handgun capable of firing multiple shots per second, he said.
“A lot of these thieves are taking these cars to use in other violent crimes, so you always have that at the back of your mind,” Black said. Before attempting to arrest Zetina, at least five task force members put on protective vests and were well armed.
Members of BATTLE were attempting to arrest Zetina around 4 p.m. Monday, when he started a gun battle in which both he and El Paso County Deputy Micah Flick died. During the shootout, Detective Sgt. Jake Abendschan, Deputy Scott Stone, Colorado Police Detective Marcus Yanez and a bystander were wounded. Ballistic and forensic testing will confirm whether Zetina fired all the shots that wounded the law officers and bystander.
“Oh, gosh, it’s tragic,” Black said of the shooting. “Our hearts are just broken.”
A lot of people learn about police work by watching television in which cops have long, running gun battles, he said. They just don’t understand that criminals in general can fire bullets “as quick as you can move your fingers.” He added that protective vests do not provide full-body coverage. There are many gaps in protection.
A moment-by-moment analysis
of what happened Monday will take meticulous, painstaking work, Black said.
The task force wasn’t formed to go after all car thieves, Black said. Its members don’t go after car thieves who steal vehicles simply to get from point A to point B on a chilly day or for thrills, Black said. The task force targets highly prolific thieves who steal methodically for highly organized criminal organizations that dismantle cars in chop shops or move them out-of-state or country.
“To get on BATTLE or any task force in the department is a competitive process. These officers are experienced, well-trained detectives. There’s a lot of training in dealing with violent offenders. We’ve been battling car thieves for years,” Black said.
Black emphasized that a mammoth criminal investigation into the shootout is in the early stages. Initially, authorities knew enough to target Zetina as a professional car thief, but they don’t know a lot about him as a person, he said.
“We just don’t know enough about him (to say he is extremely violent),” Black said. “We will know everything about him in the coming days.”
Zetina’s prior contacts with law enforcement consisted of citations from El Paso County deputies and Colorado Springs police.
On Feb. 26, 2016, an El Paso County deputy cited Zetina for a misdemeanor charge of possessing drug paraphernalia and less than 2 ounces of marijuana. Zetina was 17 at the time.
Prosecutors dropped the marijuana possession count in a deal in which he pleaded guilty to the drug paraphernalia charge and paid $238.50 in fines, including a $5 surcharge to enter a youth substance-abuse program. Judge Gail Warkentin also sentenced him to 16 hours of community service.
On Jan. 1, another deputy cited Zetina for driving a car without a license and having a fictitious license plate on the car. Ten days later, a Colorado Springs police officer cited him for identical traffic charges. The traffic charges were pending at the time of Zetina’s death.