BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — Two people have been arrested, and a third remains at-large, in connection with a series of crimes including motor vehicle thefts, porch piracy, and vehicle trespasses in Lyons, Boulder and Longmont.
The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office obtained arrest warrants for three suspects related to the crimes, which occurred between September 2020 and February 2021. The suspects are accused of leaving unicorns — some were figurines, some were drawn — at the crime scenes. This helped investigators tie the crimes together, and the investigation was dubbed "Operation Unicorn."
The suspects are:
- Michael Phillips, 21
- Marie Alins Roman, 36
- Adrian Cisco Quintana, 44
Phillips and Roman are in custody. Quintana is at-large, the sheriff's office said.
In total, detectives tied the group to crimes in 12 jurisdictions in the Denver metro area.
The damage from the incidents was valued at about $115,000.
The suspects face 53 criminal charges for the crimes in Boulder County, including unlawful distribution and possession of dangerous drugs and drug paraphernalia, 12 counts of aggravated motor vehicle theft, identity theft, theft, vehicular eluding, 28 counts of first-degree motor vehicle trespass, criminal mischief, theft of license plates, and second-degree criminal trespass of property. These crimes affected 46 places in the county, the sheriff's office said.
The Boulder Police Department, Longmont Police Department, Boulder County District Attorney’s Office and the Town of Lyons helped with this investigation.
Anybody with information on the whereabouts of Quintana is asked to call the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office at 303-441-3600.