Christopher David Sullivan Gets 80 Years For Wild Colorado Crime Spree

Carjacker Gets 80 Years For Wild Crime Spree Caught On Live TV

(Reuters) - A gun-toting felon whose two-hour carjacking and crime spree in Colorado last year played out on live television filmed from a news helicopter has been sentenced to 80 years in prison, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Christopher David Sullivan, 37, pleaded guilty last month to 46 charges including aggravated robbery, menacing with a deadly weapon and first-degree assault, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office said in a statement.

"Wielding an assault rifle and high on cocaine, Sullivan terrorized residents and visitors on Lookout Mountain, stealing cars and breaking into houses while running from ... deputies," the statement said.

"He committed carjackings, burglaries, and felony menacing of numerous individuals at gunpoint."

Sullivan had also pleaded guilty to sex trafficking and contributing to the delinquency of a minor because his alleged accomplice was a 17-year-old girl. The teenager has also been charged and her case is pending in juvenile court.

The incident began last July when a deputy pulled over Sullivan for a traffic violation near Lookout Mountain, about 12 miles west of Denver, but he sped away when other officers arrived at the scene. As police gave chase, the pair abandoned the first car and commandeered a second vehicle at gunpoint.

In footage captured by a TV news helicopter, Sullivan and the girl were later seen walking through a wooded area as he carried an assault rifle in one hand and a pistol in the other.

The pair split up, and Sullivan ultimately broke into an occupied home, where he stole a sport utility vehicle and was seen crashing it through the garage doors as he fled.

He later crashed it and tried unsuccessfully to carjack other vehicles. He was eventually tackled by a lone motorcycle officer and taken into custody. The 17-year-old girl was arrested elsewhere on the mountainside.

Pete Weir, the local district attorney, called Sullivan a dangerous man "who struck terror into the hearts of many that day," including a couple and their two small children who were vacationing in Colorado.

(Reporting by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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