MAN, 37, CHARGED IN TRACTOR CHASE
Thomas Busch is accused of 23 offenses, including biting and choking a working police dog, related to a string of crimes that ended with a low-speed pursuit.
A man accused of stealing a tractor and leading Denver police on a slow-speed chase through downtown Denver on Friday night last week has been charged with 23 offenses including allegedly biting and choking a working police dog, aggravated motor vehicle theft and vehicular eluding.
Thomas Busch, 37, was formally charged by the Denver district attorney, officials confirmed Friday.
Busch’s charges are one count of menacing, three counts of aggravated motor vehicle theft, three counts of failure to report an accident or return to the scene, four counts of careless driving, one count of vehicular assault, one count of leaving the scene of an accident, three counts of second-degree criminal trespass, three counts of criminal mischief, one count of criminal attempt to commit aggravated motor vehicle theft, one count of vehicular eluding, one count of resisting arrest and one count of cruelty to a certified police working dog.
A timeline provided by the Denver Police Department indicates Busch allegedly stole a Jeep around 5:20 p.m. at Colfax Avenue and Kipling Street in Lakewood. Twenty minutes later, the police said Busch dumped the stolen Jeep and stole a tow truck in the 700 or 800 block of Water Street and then allegedly got into a hitand-run crash with a Subaru headed south in the 700 block of Water Street.
A few minutes later, police said Busch got on Interstate 25 going south in the northbound lanes and was involved in a head-on crash resulting in serious bodily injury. It was not immediately clear who was injured and to what extent the injuries were.
Busch then allegedly fled the crash scene on foot.
Around 6:45 p.m., Busch allegedly entered the Denver Water Facility at 1600 W. 12th Ave. and stole a Denver Water tractor with a lawn-mowing deck valued at more than $70,000, according to police. Around 8:18 p.m., Busch allegedly entered a construction site illegally and damaged a 20ton front loader valued at more than $250,000 when he attempted to steal it.
Minutes later, Busch was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run crash while driving the Denver Water tractor. He then allegedly rammed a fence, entered City Park golf course, attempted to steal a construction truck, attempted to break into a construction trailer, climbed back into the stolen Denver Water tractor once officers got on scene and eluded Denver police, who were chasing him with their lights on.