Crime & Safety
Man Breaks Through Walls In Attempt To Escape Lakewood Police
Joseph Medina, 35, was arrested after a standoff, police said. He broke through walls and may have started a fire in an attempt to escape.
LAKEWOOD, CO — A Denver man is accused of starting a fire and breaking through walls into several apartments Wednesday in an attempt to escape officers during a standoff in Lakewood, police said. The West Metro SWAT Team and police officers from Wheat Ridge and Lakewood were called to an apartment complex on the 1700 block of Kendall St.
Joseph Jacob Medina, 35, was wanted on felony warrants by Denver police. When officers arrived to arrest him, he broke through the walls of several apartments in the building, police said. The apartment complex was evacuated, and Medina barricaded himself inside an apartment.
Medina then started a fire in the apartment complex, police said.
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SWAT negotiators spoke with Medina and he eventually came out of the building and was arrested, police said.
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Medina faces at least seven charges, including first-degree arson, second-degree burglary and criminal mischief. He's being held at the Denver County Dentention Center.
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