ARVADA, Colo. (KDVR) — Arvada police are frustrated after a man who reportedly chased a woman through a park with garden shears was let out, only to be arrested a week later for allegedly committing another crime.
David Snelling with the Arvada Police Department said officers were shocked when they got to Independence Park on Sept. 3 and heard what a woman was put through while walking her dog.
“She demonstrated with her hands that these shears were this big and he had one in each hand,” Snelling said.
She was chased through the park but was able to get away and call the police. Snelling says an infrared drone was used to find Harper in the bushes nearby and take him into custody. Despite the shocking nature of the crime, Snellings said that wasn’t the most upsetting part to him.
“The most disturbing part was to find that he was out immediately on a signature,” Snelling said.
Despite charges of felony menacing and obstructing a peace officer, the judge let Harper out on a personal recognizance bond; some paperwork was all that was needed to walk free.
“When we put all those resources in and we spend hours and hours of personnel time to finally get somebody in jail, it’s a little deflating when they get let out,” Snelling said.
It wasn’t long before he was in custody again. On Sept. 11, Harper was found allegedly attempting to light a tree on fire a block from an Arvada school. On body-worn camera footage as he’s arrested, Harper can be heard saying, “I can’t believe you let me out on a PR bond.”
“At least give him a bond where he has to stay in jail and go through some kind of alcohol or drug or mental health evaluations before you turn him loose back in the community,” Snelling said.
FOX31 learned that Harper had a prior arrest and served jail time in Tennessee before coming to Colorado as well. Snelling says he believes that, combined with Harper’s victim living in the area, there should’ve been enough evidence to keep him behind bars.
“When we do have an outstanding victim and their family in the city, that’s concerning,” Snelling said.
He hopes that in the future, judges in the county will work more closely with police on how bonds should be handled.
“We still have to have a measure of common sense and community concern that somewhere between that point of arrest and having a trial, we need to consider the safety of our community,” Snelling said.
FOX31 reached out to both the courts and the 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office to try and learn why Harper was given that PR bond for the menacing charge, but was told by both that they will not comment on open cases.
The district attorney’s office said Harper is now held on a $5,000 cash bond.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
