Man who threatened to shoot good Samaritan on I-70 sentenced

A 37-year-old man who crashed his car on Interstate 70 and then threatened to shoot a good Samaritan who stopped to help has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Jonathan Singlevich was sentenced Friday to one year in prison on a charge of attempted escape because at the time of the crash he was on the run after fleeing from a work-release program the day before.

A kidnapping charge against Singlevich was dismissed after he entered a plea of guilty to a felony menacing charge related to his threat to shoot the victim, according to a release from the Denver District Attorney’s office. He will serve a total of five years in prison on the attempted escape and a separate menacing charge, said Ken Lane, a spokesman for the the Denver District Attorney’s office.

Singlevich was driving his silver Volvo west on Interstate 70 at 12:42 a.m. on April 4 when he crashed into a sign and light pole near North Central Park Boulevard, according to court records. Singlevich climbed out of the car and began running away. A man, whose name was redacted from the report, saw the crash and Singlevich running away. He also saw Singlevich throw a backpack over a fence.

The good Samaritan pulled over to see if Singlevich was hurt. Singlevich opened the passenger door, climbed into the truck without permission and told the man to drive him to a Motel 6 at 12020 E. 39th Ave. The passerby said no.

“Don’t make me have to shoot you,” Singlevich said to the man.

The victim did not see the gun but he believed Singlevich was armed and “was in fear for his life.”

Singlevich, who was wearing a gray Under Armour hoodie and a pair of sunglasses backward on his head, told the good Samaritan that he was an “escapee from prison and that he was going to have to go on the run now.”

During the drive, Singlevich called someone on his cellphone and said he was leaving town.

The victim was afraid for his life so he kept trying to keep Singlevich talking.

Singlevich told the man that the Volvo was registered to him and his girlfriend. He said that he threw the backpack away because it was loaded with drugs. Singlevich was fidgeting, talking nonstop and anxiously rifling through his pockets and appeared to be high on drugs, according to court records.