Weld Deputies Searching for Suspect Who Taped Firecrackers to Gas Meter

The Weld County Sheriff's Office is seeking information regarding an incident earlier this week, in which they discovered firecrackers taped to a gas meter. Deputies say this was an apparent attempt to ignite a live gas line.

According to police, a homeowner in the 200 block of Kelly Lane, which is located in unincorporated Weld County, called 911 on March 25 after finding a backpack on the side of his house. The backpack contained several items that the homeowner believed had been stolen from his house the night before.

Deputies Michael Jaeger and Nathan Scudder arrived to the Kelly Lane property around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Upon searching the backpack, the deputies located several other pieces of evidence, including multiple car keys, an ignition tumbler, gloves, some tools and a registration card from a recovered stolen vehicle.

As Deputy Scudder circled back to make sure they had collected all of the evidence from the backpack, he noticed something odd about the gas meter on the side of the residence. Someone had attached five M-150 firecrackers to a live gas line running to the meter. The firecrackers were taped to the gas line and then wrapped in plastic. In addition, there was a full box of matches, and a pile of unused matches on the ground next to the meter. Numerous empty alcohol bottles were also collected from the area as evidence.

This discovery prompted a precautionary response from Weld County Bomb Squad, who took possession of the M-150s for safe disposal.

Weld deputies are still searching for the suspect or suspects who taped these firecrackers to the gas meter. Anyone with information regarding this or any other crime is asked to call the Weld County Sheriff’s Office at (970) 356-4015 or Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website at www.crimeshurt.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward.

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