VAPE PEN BLAMED FOR SMALL DIA FIRE

A vape pen disassembled by its owner to prevent sparking a fire did just that when it passed through an x-ray in the TSA security line at Denver International Airport in January, according to an incident report released Friday.

The vape pen’s exposed lithiumion battery led to a man’s satchel catching fire in the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint around 5 p.m. on Jan. 30, according to the report from the Denver Fire Department. A TSA agent immediately put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. The whole incident only took 55 seconds but it still meant waiting travelers had to evacuate and wait for other security lines to open.

The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits electronic cigarettes and vaping devices in checked bags. Passengers can bring them in carryon baggage or on their person. But some airlines have policies against them.

The vape pen’s owner was not charged.

Laporte man arrested after threats. A 37-year-old Laporte man is facing several charges after he used a BB gun and machete to threaten neighbors and Larimer County Sheriff’s deputies Saturday morning.

Evan Anthony Jack was taken to a local hospital after being attacked by a police dog that was deployed when Jack pointed the BB gun at deputies and refused several commands, deputies said. He was later booked on allegations of second-degree assault, two counts of felony menacing, felony criminal mischief and other misdemeanors.

Deputies were responding to the 3500 block of West County Road 54G in Laporte about 8 a.m. on a report of a high intoxicated male brandishing a machete and threatening the reporting party with a BB gun. The suspect was also using the machete to damage property and vehicles, deputies said. The reporting party said the suspect wanted to be shot by police.

Truck chase spans four counties. Thieves who stole a truck in Cheyenne County Friday sparked a fourcounty high-speed pursuit that didn’t end until the two were stopped in Adams County.

Starting in Cheyenne Wells, a small town near the Kansas border, a man and woman stole a Dodge 250 pickup truck. The two headed up U.S. 385 into Kit Carson before turning west on U.S. 36, making their way into Washington and Adams counties.

As they entered more and more counties, other law enforcement agencies joined the chase, dropping off once they started getting too far from their jurisdiction.