WESTMINSTER, Colo. — The man accused of trying to abduct a teenager walking to school in Westminster last year was sentenced on Tuesday to 25 years in the Department of Corrections (DOC).
Jeremiah Samuel Mullins, 31, of Denver, pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary of a building, second-degree motor vehicle theft, robbery/aggravated menacing with a deadly weapon and second-degree kidnapping. The sentences for each charge are set to run concurrently, according to the 17th Judicial District Attorney's Office, amounting to 25 years total. Eleven other charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.
Charges were filed against Mullins on Oct. 25, a few hours after the alleged attempted abduction. He faced charges related to a string of crimes that day before and after the attempted abduction as well.
Around 6 a.m. on Oct. 25, before the attempted abduction, Thornton police said a man approached another driver sitting in his parked car. The suspect demanded the man get out, and give him his phone, wallet and keys while pointing a gun at him, according to Mullins' arrest affidavit. Thornton police were able to obtain surveillance footage of this incident as well. The suspect's car appeared to be gold with a possible temporary tag and sticker on the driver's rear window, the arrest affidavit states.
Just after 7 a.m., a 14-year-old girl reported to Westminster police that a driver approached her near W. 125th Avenue and Delaware Street on her walk to school. She told Westminster PD the man threatened her with a gun and told her to get in the car.
"She lied to the male and told him she had money," Mullins' arrest affidavit described. "He grabbed the backpack from her and drove off."
The girl made it to school safely, where she reported what happened, Westminster police said. A detective came to the school to talk to the girl, along with her mother and father.
The girl described the suspect to a detective, including his tattoos, according to Mullins' arrest affidavit. The teenager told police the suspect's car appeared "silver with dirt on it," there were stickers on it, and it looked like he had been in a couple of crashes. She also described her backpack he took.
Then around 9 a.m., a woman arrived home, parked her car and opened the rear driver's side door when she saw the driver of a gold sedan reversing near her, according to Mullins' arrest affidavit.
The driver rolled down a window and pointed a gun at her, she told Thornton police. The driver told her to drop her keys, get her baby from the back of the car "and run," the affidavit reads. The woman did so, but the man followed her in his car and told her to "get in the car" while she pleaded "no" and "I have my baby. Just let me go."
The woman was able to enter an access code to her apartment and got inside safely. The woman told police the man appeared to be in a gold car with a temporary tag and sticker on the driver's side rear window, according to the arrest affidavit. This incident was also recorded on a surveillance camera in the area.
“This was an outrageous crime that terrorized a teenage girl as well as our entire community,” said District Attorney Brian Mason. “The defendant, who was a complete stranger, targeted an innocent teenage girl in broad daylight—an act that is as brazen as it is dangerous. He also held three separate victims at gunpoint, terrorizing them and stealing one of their cars."
Mason commended the "brave young teenager for her courage and quick thinking, which saved her from further harm," and also thanked both the Westminster and Thornton police departments for what he called "their swift and thorough investigation into these crimes."
Mullins had a criminal history prior to the incidents on Oct. 25. In 2019, he also pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery with a weapon, following his arrest on charges of kidnapping. Mullins was on parole at the time of the attempted abduction in Westminster, according to court documents.
Prior coverage:
- Affidavit: Westminster attempted abduction suspect linked to multiple other crimes that same day
- Charges filed against man accused of attempting to abduct girl walking to school in Westminster
- Police: Aurora woman kidnapped warming up car, escapes during stop at service station
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