Montrose - Daily Press

CEDAREDGE — A suspected robber was reported in critical condition Tuesday, when officers from three agencies trapped him in a Delta County orchard.

Donald Thompson, who turned 54 today, had apparently ingested some of the Oxycotin he is suspected of stealing from Cedaredge Food Town, and had to be taken to the hospital.

An arrest affidavit alleges Thompson threatened to shoot a store clerk, eluded the Cedaredge Police officer who gave chase and also attempted to run the officer down.

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According to scanner traffic from the night of the incident, officers from Cedaredge, the Delta County Sheriff's Office and the Colorado State Patrol found Thompson unresponsive after he was put into a patrol vehicle. They rushed him to the hospital. He has since been released to the Delta County Jail.

Police say that at around 5 p.m. Tuesday, a man, later identified as Thompson, entered the Food Town and took two 40 mg-bottles of Oxycotin. He allegedly passed a note to the clerk that stated: "Give me your 40 mg Oxycotin now or I will shoot you," then jumped over the counter, and shoved aside a second clerk who attempted to stop him, all while keeping one hand inside his coat.

The suspect fled in a van, but was spotted by Officer Mike Neil, who chased him down Highway 65 at speeds between 70 and 90 mph.

Neil stated in the affidavit that Thompson was passing others unsafely and attempting to run them off the road. Thompson then reportedly flipped a sharp U-turn, making a collision with Neil's patrol car unavoidable.

After both vehicles came to a stop, the officer got out and tried to open Thompson's van door, but Thompson allegedly geared up his vehicle, reversed and pointed the van right at Neil before accelerating.

"I retreated behind my patrol car to avoid being struck and run over by the suspect vehicle," Neil wrote.

The pursuit started up again, this time, with Thompson allegedly running a red light and several stop signs, with Neil, the DCSO and CSP on his tail.

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Comments

JWeee wrote on Nov 6, 2009 5:08 PM:

" All danger and sadness of addiction aside... High speed chases are what many officers live for. That was a dang good time wasn't it officer Neil!!! Chasing someone at 90 mph down hwy 65, what could be more fun than that... "




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Chickenman wrote on Nov 3, 2009 6:54 PM:

" Addiction to mj is a walk in the park compared to narcotic addiction......POCM "




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Brad wrote on Nov 3, 2009 12:42 PM:

" You must be high if you think marijuana is not addictive. "




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Hellena Handbasket wrote on Oct 30, 2009 12:13 PM:

" Well thank goodness OxyContin is available and regulated, when the non-addictive and also effective painkiller marijuana is not. Where is the logic here? "




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just the facts wrote on Oct 29, 2009 1:03 PM:

" FIrst off, to be clear, it is OxyContin. Please check your spelling. Second, OxyContin is the brand name for a time-release version of the drug oxycodone, which in turn is a semi-synthetic opioid designed in Germany nearly 100 years ago to "improve upon" existing opioids such as morphine, heroin, and codeine. "




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mister big wrote on Oct 27, 2009 9:18 AM:

" Herion is a heck of alot cheaper than Oxycontin. "




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H. Craig Bradley wrote on Oct 25, 2009 5:05 PM:

" Oxycotin (poor man's heroin) is a powerful prescription-only pain killer which is considered highly addictive. It is also a Controlled Substance.

This is why people (patients) can easily get hooked on it and then act irrationally. Felony theft of OXY and violations of the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 mean 10 years in prison for suspect Don Thompson, if convicted.

Once in prison, he will undergo a kind of detox program, except it won't be quite the same kind as afforded to Hollywood celebrities. "




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not shocked wrote on Oct 23, 2009 12:19 PM:

" Like I said, personal responsibility. Some people choose not to take any. "




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