Suspects in area vehicle thefts held

Phillips County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release Monday, Dec. 21, regarding updates to recent vehicle thefts in Phillips County.

On Dec. 18, a meeting was held at Phillips County Event Center where 11 law enforcement agencies from Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas were present. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the current auto theft problem in rural parts of area counties. From this meeting, four suspects were identified.  

On the evening of Dec. 17, two of the identified suspects were arrested on active warrants from Yuma County. They were arrested by Broomfield police in a stolen car. Diego Nevarez, 22, and Cristal Carrasco-Diaz, 30, both of Wray, are being held pending extradition back to Yuma County.   

PCSO strongly believes these two are related to the five recent auto thefts in Phillips County. These two are only suspects at this time and have not been charged by PCSO. Law enforcement is currently working on connecting them to the theft of a Ford pickup stolen from Phillips County and discovered in Thornton.

Although PCSO is certain they have two in custody, people are still urged to be vigilant and protect their personal property by removing the keys from vehicles and locking the doors.