UPDATE: In Custody 071209
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Billy Joe Martinez
DOB: 11/18/79
502, 125, Black Hair, Brown Eyes
WANTED FOR:
Felony theft, forgery, Violation of Bail Bond Conditions 2 counts, Second Degree Burglary, theft
Recently, I added a Mr. Raul Pineda-Morales to the Most Wanted List. He appears at the top of the list HERE.
Mr. Pineda has been deported back to Mexico twice that I know of and has immediately returned to the Fort Morgan area to continue his criminal activity. Mr. Pineda knows that he has warrants and is not supposed to be here. Subsequently, he runs from law enforcement every time that we see him on the streets. I have personally been involved in several foot chases involving Mr. Pineda.
He is currently wanted on 3 separate warrants. One of the warrants is a failure to appear warrant involving felony menacing with a deadly weapon. If you see this person in the Fort Morgan area, do not approach him and please contact the Morgan County Communications Center at 970-867-5678 (Answering for the Fort Morgan Police Department).
Tattoos:
There is a bad guy on the streets that we really would like to get scooped up as quick as possible. Please visit the following link for more information and keep your eyes open for this guy and his brother.
I apologize for the Most Wanted list being down folks! I was in a K9 training school for the last 4 weeks so it was hard for me to update the entries. Additionally, the content here on the blog has been slow too.
Anyway, I am back! So, keep checking in here for updated content. The weather is supposed to get interesting tomorrow so perhaps I will have some crazy stuff to share with y’all. 
Be sure to check the Most Wanted list…it’s gotten quite large.
Well, it’s November 1st, and it was in the 70’s again today. All this warm weather is beginning to make me wonder if it’s ever going to get cold and snow! I for one cannot wait for subzero temperatures to descend upon Morgan County in order to get rid of the flys that all seem to want to find their way indoors. Maybe there is global warming? Although the report of snow blanketing the British House of Commons in London on October 22nd for the first time since 1922 makes me wonder. The British House of Commons were gathered on that day to pass legislation to combat global warming, ha ha…
Anyway, I am confident that we will see winter conditions soon which translates to icy roads. I found this article on the ‘net about driving on ice and thought it would be of benefit to motorists:
The best advice for driving in bad winter weather is not to drive at all, if you can avoid it.
Don’t go out until the snow plows and sanding trucks have had a chance to do their work, and allow yourself extra time to reach your destination.
If you must drive in snowy conditions, make sure your car is prepared (TIPS), and that you know how to handle road conditions.
It’s helpful to practice winter driving techniques in a snowy, open parking lot, so you’re familiar with how your car handles. Consult your owner’s manual for tips specific to your vehicle. more…
Some tips from Sheriff Crone:
Before an incident happens:
1. Get to know your neighbors - watch out for each other. Find someone you can trust and look out for each other.
2. Make yourself crime resistant - locks, lights, and dogs.
3. Are you going to be gone? Don’t make it look that way but also have someone check on your place. Call your sheriff’s office. Do they do vacation house checks?
4. Neighborhood watch/ Ranch watch
5. Talk to your local sheriff’s office about crime prevention.
During An Incident:
1. Does a vehicle or person or a situation look out of place? Does your gut tell you something isn’t right? Trust your instincts!
2. Call 911 or at least your local sheriff’s office non-emergency phone number (program it in your cell phone). Call NOW, not when you get home. Stay on the phone if you can.
3. Be a good witness! Description of the location, vehicle(s) and persons. If they move, call back or provide us with a direction of travel.
Confronting Someone:
1. Confrontation is NOT advised; that’s what YOU pay US for!
2. If a person or vehicle leaves the scene, AND YOU CAN DO IT SAFELY FROM A DISTANCE, continue to provide a direction of travel.
3. IF you confront - have someone else call first. Get the calvary coming! Make sure we know who YOU are!
4. If you take a gun - make sure we know who YOU are!
5. If law enforcement confronts, YOU, do EXACTLY what you are told to do - we can argue who the good guys are later.
After the Incident
1. Prosecute if there has been a crime committed. It is a crime to trespass. It is a more serious crime to trespass on agricultural property!
2. If the word gets out you call the cops and prosecute, the word will get out you are not someone to mess with.
Employees
1. Consider doing a Colorado Bureau of Investigations check on EVERYONE (https://www.cbirecordscheck.com/CBI_New /CBI_newIndex.asp)
Pros - Gives you a “heads up” about potential problems (drugs, burglars).
Cons - Costs you a few dollars ($6.85 for each name). Only checks Colorado; no other states - and no juvenile or warrant records.
2. Take a good facial photograph when you hire them - attach it to their personnel file. Buy an inkpad and “roll” a fingerprint on their application.
3. Write down a description of the vehicle they are driving - make/color/license plate. Better yet, snap a picture with your phone.
Be sure to check out our Most Wanted List updated today. Give us a call if you have seen or know where any of these folks are at.
Please check our most wanted list, particularly the last entry for Darryl Klotzbach. He walked away from his community corrections sentence at the Colorado Department of Corrections. He is considered a prison escapee and is reportedly in the Morgan County area. If you see him, contact us at 970-867-2461.
I am headed out the door to see if I can track him down as we speak…
Darryl L. Klotzbach:
And with that, we can expect quite a few yellow busses on the roadway in the morning and afternoon hours.
So, I want to take a moment and remind you all that we need to be alert to busses coming to their stops and letting off children.
Per C.R.S. 42-4-1903, when you see a bus and you are driving on a “highway, road, or street,” and “upon meeting or overtaking from either direction any school bus which has stopped,” you ”shall stop the vehicle before reaching such school bus…” Simply put, if the bus has it’s flashing red lights and/or it’s stop sign extended, you need to stop! Failing to do this is a class 1 traffic misdemeanor which means, if you get a ticket for this, it’s an automatic trip to the county court judge.
Some may ask, “What if the bus driver doesn’t report me; they won’t give me a ticket then, right?”
Well…
If a school bus driver observes a motorist disregarding its signals to stop, they are REQUIRED BY LAW to report the violator to their dispatch center which in turn notifies law enforcement. So, if you do disregard a school bus and its signals, you will get a ticket.
So please be aware of the big yellow bricks with the school busses on the roads; the law is intended to protect our children getting off.
So, some of you may be asking, “What’s up with the burn ban in light of all this rain?” Well, good question! Sheriff Crone has taken a common-sensical approach to the entire issue and has come up with a burn ban status system. This makes the burn ban more functional and less rigid for those of us that live in an area with unpredictable weather patterns. To read all the information concerning the burn ban and the burn status rating, please visit THIS PAGE.
In a nutshell:
Green- No burn restrictions (within the law of course 
)
Yellow - The burn ban is in effect and a burn permit is needed to burn certain materials.
Red - No burning allowed at all. This usually means that the weather service has issued a red-flag warning for our area but is not a prerequisite for a red flag warning to be issued.
