DENVER (CBS4) – The suspects involved in one of the biggest meth rings in state history used cellphones to communicate with each other and developed code words for the drug.

Authorities announced the bust of the ring on Monday, and referred to their actions as Operation Cargo. The takedown netted 55 pounds of methamphetamine, and some of it was sold out of a taco truck on Federal Boulevard near 8th.

(credit: Colorado AG)

Colorado’s attorney general says the drug trafficking was organized by Juan Carlos Gonzlez.

Juan Carlos Gonzlez (credit: Colorado AG)

“We’ve identified this as a family-run organization,” Attorney General John Suthers said. “Mr. Gonzalez was the main kingpin, his two aunts were very much a part of the organization.”

“This is nasty stuff, this is 99 percent pure methamphetamine, very addictive,” Suthers said.

A large load was found hidded inside a Mini Cooper that agents say was driven by Oscar Ruvalcaba. He allegedly made trips to Mexico to buy the drugs and then drove them through California and into Colorado.

Oscar Ruvalcaba (credit: Colorado AG)

“That car was stopped and some 40 some pounds were seized from the engine area of that car where he had it disguised,” Suthers said.

A five-week investigation with wiretaps found that the suspects often spoke in code over the phone. Orders for meth were reffered to as a “six pack,” a “double” and “yellow cups.”

Suthers says the Operation Cargo may have been successful, but the amount of meth seized with a street value of at least $750,000 means drug cartels have apparently found a strong market for it here in the Denver area.

“It speaks to fairly widespread availability, it speaks to fairly widespread demand,” he said.

In addition to Gonzlez and Ruvalcaba, police have arrested 13 other suspects.

PHOTO GALLERY: ‘Operation Cargo’ Mug Shots

Two male suspects remain at large. Anyone with information about where James Loeffler and Patrick Lorenzo may be are asked to contact the DEA at 720-895-4139.

James Loeffler and Patrick Lorenzo (credit: Denver District Attorney’s Office)

RELATED: Massive Meth Bust In Colorado Involved Selling Out Of Taco Truck

LOUISIANA, Mo. (AP) – A former Colorado funeral home worker tasked with spreading cremated ashes in the Rocky Mountains instead kept four people’s remains in the trunk of his car for several years, police said.

A Pike County sheriff’s deputy found the ashes in four plastic boxes after police in the northeast Missouri town of Louisiana arrested James Robert Lee II, 39, on methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia charges.

Lee went to Louisiana City Hall on Sept. 23 and told officers his GPS system indicated he was being followed. He was arrested at his parents’ home after again calling police. Bob Jenne, the town’s police chief, said Lee was behaving erratically, had dilated pupils and repeatedly scratched himself – all signs of meth use.

Online court records didn’t list an attorney for Lee, who remained jailed Tuesday on a $10,000 cash-only bond and was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday on an arraignment.

The remains authorities found were individually identified and labeled from the Callahan-Edfast Mortuary in Grand Junction, Colorado. The cremation dates ranged from 2005 to 2008. Jenne said Lee worked at the funeral home until April, when he returned to Missouri.

However, the owner of the mortuary, Rick Allnutt, told the Associated Press that Lee no longer worked for the funeral home when he bought the business in December 2011. He said he didn’t know when Lee left the company.

“Our main concern is for the families connected with this man’s actions,” Allnutt said.

Gary Blackburn, the funeral home’s general manager, said the mortuary is seeking the return of the remains to properly honor the wishes of the deceased.

The Louisiana Press-Journal first reported Lee’s arrest.

Jenne said he contacted Grand Junction police and the FBI’s regional office in St. Louis, but doesn’t expect Lee to face criminal charges related to the human remains.

Steffani Blackstock, executive director of the Colorado Funeral Directors Association, said the state is one of the few that doesn’t license individual funeral home directors or morticians. So any penalty over the mishandled remains would be assessed against Lee’s former employer rather than him directly, she said.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

LA PLATA COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – Authorities in La Plata County issued an Amber Alert Saturday afternoon after they believe a woman who lost her parental rights abducted her two children.

According to the La Plata County Sheriff’s Department, Kallisha Hughes, 30, took her two children from the home of their legal guardians early Saturday afternoon. She might be traveling to Alto, N.M.

The Amber Alert was issued for Kallisha Hughes’ two daughters — Kiarah Hughes, 6; and Brooklyn Hughes, 3.

“The abductor was angry when taking the children, may be mentally unstable and may be under the influence of methamphetamine,” according to the Amber Alert. “Abductor has an extensive criminal history, violent tendencies and a is a frequent methamphetamine abuser.”

Kiarah Hughes is described as being white, 3-foot-2, 45 pounds with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink and gray striped sweater and blue Capri pants.

Brooklyn Hughes is described as being white, 2-foot-3, 30 pounds with ear-length brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt and rainbow pants.

Kallisha Hughes is described as being white, 5-foot-2, 120 pounds with shoulder-length brown hair and hazel eyes. She was last seen driving a 2003 gray (primer) Chevrolet Malibu with Colorado plates 035-PCQ. The driver’s side front fender is gold and there’s a possible red streak on the vehicle from traffic accident that occurred on Saturday.

Anyone with information is asked to immediately call 911.

LINK: Sign Up To Receive Amber Alerts

ALTO, N.M. (AP) — A Colorado woman accused of unlawfully taking her two daughters and triggering an Amber Alert has been apprehended in New Mexico.

Authorities say 30-year-old Kallisha Hughes and her children were found unharmed in the city of Alto on Saturday night.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation issued the alert earlier in the day.

They say Hughes, who lost her parental rights, forcibly took 5-year-old Kiarah Hughes and 3-year-old Brooklyn Hughes from their aunt’s home in Durango.

The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office says Hughes then drove off with the girls.

Both children are with authorities until they can be returned to family in Colorado.

Authorities say Hughes has an extensive criminal history.

She is being held on a warrant for kidnapping, burglary and violation of a restraining order.

RELATED: Amber Alert Issued After Mother Allegedly Abducts Daughters

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MONTE VISTA, Colo. (CBS4) - Authorities made a major methamphetamine bust in southern Colorado on Friday when they discovered 11 pounds of the drug hidden in a spare tire.

The drugs’ value is estimated at more than $500,000.

Monte Vista police officers found the drugs during a traffic stop in Monte Vista, not far from Alamosa.

Two men from Sonora, Mexico — Francisco Javier Romero-Sotelo, 30, and Jose Enrique Cubillas-Varela, 28 — were arrested. They’re held in Rio Grande County Jail.

The case has been referred to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

DENVER (AP) — A Jefferson County jury has found Robert Felix Gonzales guilty of prostituting a 14-year-old girl over a period of two years.

Authorities say Gonzales met the teen in 2011 through a foster home placement and began having sex with her, grooming her to believe that she was in love with him.

Authorities also say Gonzales provided her with methamphetamine and alcohol and forced her to have sex with other people for money or drugs.

Sentencing has been set for Jan. 7. Gonzales remains in custody on a $500,000 cash bond.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) – Investigators on Colorado’s Western Slope are still trying to track down members of a drug ring around the Roaring Fork Valley.

Seven people in Carbondale and Glenwood Springs have been captured and jailed.

Arrest warrants are out for another dozen people.

Officers seized seven pounds of methamphetamine and more than four pounds of cocaine.

The bust started earlier this month and investigators hope to have all the suspects rounded up in within the next two weeks.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) — A man who stabbed his mother to death during a drug-fueled argument at a Littleton home has been sentenced to 32 years in prison.

The Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that 33-year-old Darin Allen Ninneman was sentenced for the May 5, 2012, death of 52-year-old Lorri Denice Ninneman. Darin Ninneman pleaded guilty in August to second-degree murder.

Prosecutors say he was homeless after a rehabilitation facility kicked him out, and the argument with his mother began when he sought out drugs. Ninneman is accused of stabbing his mother 29 times with an 8-inch fishing knife before fleeing.

Investigators say he was high on methamphetamines at the time of the murder.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

NORTHGLENN, Colo. (CBS4) – Two months after a large-scale raid on a home in Northglenn, federal prosecutors are revealing what was found and who was arrested.

They say a case is moving forward against Richard Jackson, 29. He faces federal charges of being a felon in possession of ammunition. CBS4 reports that he has a white supremacist background.

On Sept. 26 authorities searched the home he resided in. The home is located near 120th Avenue and Washington Street.

(credit: CBS)

The 10 hour operation included a tent that was set up in the middle of the street to examine evidence. Some agents wore protective equipment because of a concern about the possible presence of drugs. A lab report listed oxycodone, heroin, and methamphetamine among the substances analyzed for the case.

The results of the search, including photos discovered on a computer found in a car, are now part of Jackson’s case file. The evidence includes a jacket with Blood & Honor Colorado written on the sleeve. That’s the name of a known white supremacist organization.

(credit: CBS)

A car in the driveway of the home also had a decal on it with a Nazi bolt insiginia.

Also among the evidence is a photo marked “rules posted on a wall.” One such rule was “Violence is a must to secure our race” and “We do not cooperate with law enforcement.”

RELATED: Northglenn Home Raided In Suspected Drug Bust

CBS4 reporter Rick Sallinger visited the home where the raid took place this week and showed the pictures released by federal officials to a man at the door who identified himself as the owner.

“Is he a white supremacist?” Sallinger asked the man.

“No. Even if he is or was that’s not against the law. Is it against the law to be a Christian, is it against the law to be a Jehovah’s Witness?” the man said.

Ammunition and magazines were located inside the home, according to the agents, but no weapons.

“There were no guns here,” the man said. The man also claimed that the photo federal authorities released that allegedly shows Jackson was not in fact him.

CBS4 reports that Jackson has a prior conviction of felony menacing with a simulated weapon and was sentenced to four years in a state prison. He has other felony charges pending in Adams County.

DENVER (CBS4) – Authorities in northwest Denver on Thursday morning arrested more than 30 people on drug charges and confiscated pounds of illegal drugs.

A broken window at an Arvada home where one or more of the arrests happened. (credit: CBS)

More than 100 agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the North Metro Task Force served warrants for trafficking of cocaine and methamphetamine and arrested 32 people.

“As we prepared for today’s activity, we were concerned, very concerned about the possibility of an armed confrontation with some of these folks,” said North Metro Drug Task Force Sgt. Jim Gerhardt.

The take-down targeted 17 locations in Northglenn, Thornton, Commerce City, Arvada, Denver and unincorporated Adams and Arapahoe counties. SWAT teams from a number of local law enforcement agencies were involved in the operation which began about 6 a.m. Thursday.

“Thankfully the plan went exactly as designed and no one was hurt which was a huge relief,” said Gerhardt.

The arrests are a culmintion of Operation Silence, a year-long investigation by numerous law enforcement agencies into a large drug ring operating in Adams County and the north metro area.

(credit: CBS)

Seven pounds of methamphetamine, three pounds of cocaine, two pounds of heroin and eight firearms were recovered as a result of the take-down. Some of the drugs are tied to Mexican cartels.

“They’re operating out of residential homes all throughout the metro area so it puts neighbors at risk, puts people in the community at risk,” said Gerhardt. “The Denver metro area is a safer place now that they’re in custody.”

The investigation is continuing and further arrests are expected to be made.

“This was a very dangerous group of individuals, and I am very thankful that no one was injured in the successful take-down of this group,” said Adams County District Attorney Dave Young.

In some of the homes where the drugs were seized officers also found children.

DENVER (CBS4) – Several high-ranking members of a motorcycle club accused of operating a drug trafficking ring in the Denver-metro area have been indicted by a Colorado grand jury.

Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman announced on Wednesday that of the eight people indicted, several are high-ranking members of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.

Coffman said that more than 2 1/2 pounds of methamphetamine were seized in the investigation called “Operation Tick and Flea Collar.” The street value of the meth is approximately $40,000.

The code name of the operation was given in relation to the leaders of the drug trafficking operation, Philip Lee Duran, 40, also known as “Bandido Fee;” and Michael Derek Mensen, 45, also known as “Bandido Tick.” A third leader indicted has been identified as Lornezo Leuis Sojo, 39.

(credit: Colorado Attorney General)

The men are suspected of violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act by allegedly trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine, unlawful possession of firearms, money laundering and conspiracy.

“Under Duran’s leadership, this group sourced its drug supply from a variety of wholesale distributors and then sold them throughout the Denver-metro area,” Coffman said. “Law enforcement agencies across Colorado again coordinated to interrupt a drug-trafficking operation run by the Bandidos Motorcycle Club which is well known for its use of violence and intimidation.”

Others charged and awaiting trial in connection with the criminal organization are:

Hugo A. Vaca, 36
Nicholas Murillo, 23
Julieann Nicole Linebarger, 34
Erika Navarrette, 25
Zackaria Bengheshir, 34

The investigation began last August with the help of the Metro Gang Task Force, the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

All of the suspects were previously arrested except Duran who was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon during a traffic stop in Arvada.

Additional Information From The Attorney General’s Office

Anyone with information who wishes to remain anonymous should call CRIME STOPPERS at 720-913-STOP (7867), or text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) and then use the title “DMCS” and enter the message.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4) – CBS4 has learned that former Arapahoe County Sheriff Pat Sullivan will be paroled from prison Wednesday, several weeks before his mandatory release date.

“He is getting parole,” confirmed Adrienne Jacobsen, a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Corrections. “He will have the standard conditions of parole as defined by state statute.”

Pat Sullivan leaving jail in December, 2011 (credit: CBS)

Sullivan was sentenced to a 15-month stretch in state prison last June after repeatedly violating terms of probation in his criminal case, which involved swapping methamphetamine for sex with male prostitutes.

“It is my understanding Pat Sullivan is being released by the Department of Corrections,” Sullivan’s lawyer Kevin McGreevy told CBS4. “I’m optimistic he’s going to be successful on parole and hopefully that will be the end of this issue.”

Pat Sullivan (credit: Arapahoe County Sheriff)

Sullivan actually became eligible for parole in September 2014. Sullivan has been housed at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility, a medium security facility with more than 1,000 inmates.

The former sheriff landed in prison after repeatedly missing drug tests while on probation and testing positive for meth or alcohol during his time on probation.

RELATED STORIES: Pat Sullivan Story Archive

Sullivan was arrested in 2011 for trading methamphetamine for sex. He was busted in an undercover police sting operation and was convicted in 2012.

Pat Sullivan (credit: CBS)

Before his astounding fall from grace, Sullivan, 72, was the Arapahoe County sheriff for 19 years. He was a nationally regarded law enforcement figure and in 2001, the National Sheriff Association named Sullivan Sheriff of the Year.

Department of Corrections records show Sullivan has not had behavioral issues while in prison and has not been disciplined. It’s unclear where Sullivan will go after his Wednesday release.

CBS4 Investigator Brian Maass has been with the station more than 30 years uncovering waste, fraud and corruption. Follow him on Twitter @Briancbs4.

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) – Two people are in custody after allegedly speeding off in a stolen car when police in Aurora tried to pull them over Thursday morning.

Officers spotted the car Christopher Alexander Sanchez, 27, and Samantha Jo Sears, 22, were allegedly in just before 10 a.m.

They tried to do a roadside stop at East Colfax Avenue and North Havana Street after determining the car was stolen in an armed carjacking in Glendale earlier in the morning. They said they considered the suspects armed and dangerous.

Christopher Alexander Sanchez and Samantha Jo Sears (credit: Aurora Police)

Officers began chasing the car and followed it onto Interstate 225 and then Interstate 70. Speeds of up to 100 mph were reached. The chase then continued onto the following streets:

– Peoria Street
– 56th Avenue
– Pena Boulevard

The chase moved onto E-470 and then off on the East 56th Avenue exit.

(credit: CBS)

Officers then did a pit maneuver and the car went off the side of the road into a field. They then arrested Sears and Sanchez.

“One thing our officers always take into consideration when pursuing suspects is speed, traffic conditions,” said Aurora police spokesman Chris Amsler. “They felt there was no danger to the public so that’s why they continued the pursuit.”

(credit: CBS)

No one was hurt in the chase.

Aurora police said Sears is tentatively facing charges of vehicular eluding and is being held on a $3,000 bond. Police said Sanchez had methamphatamine on him when he was arrested and could face drug charges and charges of violating his bond. He’s being held on a $50,000 bond.

DENVER (CBS4) – State, federal agents and prosecutors say they have arrested 34 people in a heroin distribution sweep that resulted in 57 state and federal indictments. It was the “largest and most complex heroin bust in the history of the Rocky Mountain region,” according to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.

A lot of the drugs ended up being distributed out of Denver’s Civic Center area.

(credit: CBS)

The Drug Enforcement Administration and attorney general’s office says the abuse of prescription pills — opiates — has fueled a heroin explosion now being seeing in Colorado, and youngsters are among the ones using heroin most.

As more people abuse prescription pills, especially opiates, experts say the transition to heroin becomes necessary because it’s cheaper and easier to find. Brown heroin can be smoked which makes it easier for a user to hide. There are no needles, no track marks.

(credit: CBS)

The DEA’s Operation Chump Change put a big dent into a large drug trafficking group that spanned several states with the ring leaders based in Colorado. Operation Chump Change is an ironic name because the dealers were making hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“(It) might be considered chump change to this organization because they cleared many millions of dollars in selling hard drugs,” Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman said.

(credit: CBS)

Over wire taps, federal agents would hear the Denver street dealers talk to their bosses in Mexico about their “lunches,” which was a code word for various amounts and types of packaged drugs.

“It’s a quick and easy, accessible way for the sources of supply to talk to their workers up here and make sure it’s a seamless business system,” said Agent Rob Saccone with the DEA Strike Force. “They can readily and easily take it out of the bag and give to the customers and move on with their day without law enforcement seeing them.”

The poppy fields and heroin labs are in Mexico. Once it was manufactured, the brown heroin came to Denver in passenger cars and through the mail.

(credit: CBS)

DEA agents began seizing 10 and 20 pound loads.

“And literally within a day the organization was yet ordering another 10 or 20 pounds to replace the lost loads,” said Kevin Merrill, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the Denver DEA. “It didn’t seem to faze them that much.”

Addiction experts say the explosion of heroin use began a few years ago when the drug maker of OxyContin reformulated their pills making it more difficult for people to crush them. And pill shopping is expensive — one OxyContin pill can cost $80 on the street, but a few days-worth of heroin costs about the same.

(credit: CBS)

In all Authorities seized 273 pounds of brown heroin, 31 pounds of methamphetamine, 25 pounds of cocaine and 25 vehicles.

“We aim to strangle this drug trafficking organization to deprive it from the oxygen it needs to survive — money,” US Attorney John Walsh said.

Law enforcement say heroin is an epidemic in Colorado with overdose deaths increasing 600 percent. In the past five years 500 Coloradans have died from heroin.

Additional Information From The Colorado Attorney General’s Office

Names of the indicted:

Julio Estrada a/k/a Yael Osuna Navarro
Pedro Gutierrez-Nunez a/k/a Carlos
Jose Vidal Leon-Penuelas
John Graham
Raul Estrada-Castillo a/k/a Javier Rios
Jesus Contreras a/k/a Jesse
Luis Soto-Castro
Heriberto Aceves-Velazquez a/k/a Erick LNU
Eduardo Ruiz-Cisneros a/k/a Lalo
Marybel Delarosa-Quintana
Francisco Villanueva a/k/a Pancho
Carlos Perez-Garcia
Oscar Acosta-Estrada a/k/a Danny
Lisa Caudron
Jeff Graham
Ivan Haro-Perez
Juan Jose Santiago-Rivera
Ricardo Santiago
Salvador Heredia
Marcus Rodgers
Jaime Medina-Mejia a/k/a Jaime LNU
Jose Noel Villegas-Soto a/k/a Noel LNU
Angel Gutierrez-Nunez
Germain Davalos-Alvarado

LINK: Read The Indictments

GYPSUM, Colo. (CBS4)– Two residents of Gypsum were arrested after they called authorities to report intruders in their home but deputies found something else instead.

Dispatchers for the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office said they received a call on Friday afternoon from someone inside a home claiming that someone was trying to break in through the basement.

(credit: CBS)

When Eagle County Sheriff’s deputies arrived, the heard gunshots coming from inside the home.

The residents, Kaleb and Shannon Mickely, said they fired two shotgun rounds into the basement in self defense.

Deputies cleared the home and found no intruders but they did find meth and prescription drugs.

Kaleb and Shannon were arrested on several charges including felony drug possession, reckless endangerment and child abuse.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A Denver man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison on a federal drug charge.

Thirty-two-year-old Vincent Rios pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Authorities say Rios conspired with others to distribute at least 50 grams of methamphetamine.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Viken sentenced Rios to 87 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release.

A federal public defender was not immediately available for comment.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4)– A man wanted for attempted murder was arrested after a chase through Westminster.

Police said David Waddell was driving a stolen Cadillac at more than 100 mph when they finally stopped the car using stop sticks which punctured the tires.

Waddell has been accused of shooting a man in Wheat Ridge in December 2014. The victim survived.

Police said they found methamphetamine and stolen purses in the Cadillac when police arrested Waddell on Sunday night.

FORT MORGAN, Colo. (CBS4)– Police in Fort Morgan seized 16 pounds of methamphetamine, valued at more than $700,000, and arrested a man and a woman from Arizona.

Police responded to a call for a welfare check in the Walmart parking lot at 1:43 p.m. on Saturday where officers contacted Jazmin Elguezabal, 21 and Jonathan Potzler, 28, both of Arizona in a 2015 Nissan Versa rental vehicle.

Officers said after finding meth in their possession, Elguezabal and Potzler were arrested and the vehicle was searched. That’s when officers found the 16 pounds of meth.

Meth seized by Fort Morgan Police (credit: Fort Morgan Police Dept.)

The drugs have an estimated street value of more than $700,000 according to police. That makes it the largest seizure of meth in one incident by the Fort Morgan Police Department that anyone in the department can recall.

The drugs were found in large cylindrical packages about eight to 12 inches long, wrapped in foil and covered with grease and what appeared to be spray foam insulation.

Both Elguezabal and Potzler were charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance and unlawful distribution, manufacture, dispensing or sale of a controlled substance. Both remain in custody on no bond at the Morgan County Detention Center.

MONUMENT, Colo. (CBS4)– Police in Monument arrested four suspects after an investigation turned up drugs, stolen vehicles and guns.

Officers were called to 339 4th Street in Monument on Aug. 31 for a welfare check. During the course of the investigation over the next 13 days, which included a search of the residence, police found controlled substances, guns and stolen vehicles.

Police were called to the residence by concerned citizens who believed those living in the home were selling drugs.

During the investigation police seized more than six ounces of methamphetamine with an approximate street value of $13,000. Other substances seized included psilocybin (hallucinogenic mushrooms), heroin, cocaine, items believed to be the product of butane hash oil extraction and controlled substances in pill form.

Police also recovered a stolen motorcycle and a stolen vehicle. The vehicle was recovered and returned to the owner.

David Reza, 28, was charged with various narcotics and weapons violations including unlawful distribution, manufacturing, dispensing or sale and possession of weapons by previous offenders.

Megan Graybeal, 18, was arrested on two outstanding warrants, one for drug-related offenses and the other for criminal impersonation.

Christopher Lacotti and Austin Walpole (credit: Monument Police)

Christopher Lacotti, 28, was arrested on an outstanding warrant related to identity theft charges.

Austin Walpole, 26, was arrested on unlawful possession of a controlled substance, aggravated motor vehicle theft and possession of a defaced firearm.

The Monument Police Department conducted the investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Fountain Police Department Canine Unit.

GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) – The arrest affidavit for Roman Morales claims he admitted killing his young cousin last month while he was watching over him.

Morales had recently been released from jail and had a ankle monitoring bracelet at the time. He had been staying with family members in a unit in the Green Gables Condominiums on South Sheridan in Lakewood.

(credit: CBS)

It was just before noon on Sept. 21 when 2-year-old Donnie Ro’mello Romero was reported missing.

Donnie Ro’mello Romero (credit: CBS)

The unsealed court documents reveal the child was found later in a Tupperware-type container under a blanket and pillow inside his family apartment. He had an electrical or audio cord around his neck with marks on the skin and was bleeding.

Morales was the last to see the boy and had left on a bike shortly after Donny was reported missing.

When located, Morales told police he had been asked to watch the boy and told others he wanted give the boy a bath. He said the boy was coughing because swallowed something the wrong way and it was no big deal.

But after Morales was taken into custody police say the following conversation took place with his mother:

Roman: “I was told to do it.”

The mother replied: “He was just a little boy — he was innocent.”

Roman responded: “Don’t do this to me mom”

Witnesses also told police Morales had been a methamphetamine abuser, although they don’t know if he was on drugs at the time.

Roman Morales (credit: CBS)

Others told investigators Morales had started acting strangely after a friend was murdered three years ago, he was depressed and began cutting himself, he believed the FBI and mob were after him and that horns were beeping in codes.

Roman Morales (credit: CBS)

Morales is being held without bond and is charged with murdering the boy. There is no indication at this time whether an insanity defense may be used in this case.

CBS4’s Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.