Auto theft fugitive Esequiel Gomez and girlfriend emerge from crawlspace, arrested by SWAT

The last at-large member of an auto theft ring which police say stole $3 million in vehicles and property throughout the Denver metro area was captured Friday evening during a SWAT operation.

Esequiel "Zeke" Gomez, 33, was taken into custody at the end of a four-hour standoff in the 3200 block of West Girard Avenue.

An ambulance waits near the scene of a SWAT operation in the 3200 block of West Girard Avenue on Friday. (credit: CBS)

Thirty-year-old Demi Maestas, described by a police spokesperson as Gomez's girlfriend, was the first to emerge from the crawlspace of a residence after SWAT personnel injected tear gas into it.

Esequiel Gomez (credit: Jefferson County Sheriff's Office)

The pair held out for an unexpected duration, Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Ginger Delgado told CBS4. The SWAT team could not put a robot into the crawlspace. A police dog refused to enter it, too.

Eventually, Maestas came out and told officers Gomez was still inside.

Demi Maestas (credit: Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office)

Gomez was named as the lone suspect still at large in May when a Denver grand jury indicted 11 people for operating an organized crime ring. The group was believed to have stolen at least 130 motor vehicles in the metro area, including camping trailers in which members of the group lived. They also stole firearms and credit cards in order to support their alleged drug habits.

Members of the "Program" are also accused of burglarizing auto dealerships and repair shops, sometimes using a stolen vehicle to ram their way into a building and steal more vehicles. Also, the members of the group re-programmed after-market key fobs to steal new and high-end vehicles from individuals, according to the announcement from the Denver District Attorney's Office.

The DA's press release also noted a particular tactic used by members of the group to detect police surveillance: The drivers of a groups' vehicle would drive dangerously in order to "flesh out" police vehicles in the area, often ramming police vehicles and driving into oncoming traffic in their attempt to escape.

Esequiel Gomez and Demi Maestas in undated file photos provided by police following Gomez's evading capture in Commerce City in June. (credit: Commerce City Police Department)

Police almost caught up to Gomez and Maestas less than two weeks ago. SWAT organized a raid of a residence in the 6600 block of East 69th Avenue in Commerce City. Police released a surveillance video of Gomez fleeing the home, jumping into a stolen car and driving away just ahead of a SWAT vehicle.

In this still taken from surveillance video released by police, Esequiel Gomez makes his escape in a stolen silver Audi (upper left corner) just ahead of the first SWAT vehicle (upper right corner) arriving at the East 69th Avenue residence (center) where police intended to capture him on June 21. (credit: Commerce City Police Department)

Commerce City PD later stated its investigators found amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine, plus two stolen trucks, a stolen camper, two stolen assault-style rifles, and property from at least six different burglary scenes from four jurisdictions (Commerce City, Aurora, Thornton, and Adams County). That property totaled more than a half million dollars.

(credit: CBS)

Friday's operation was led by the Colorado Metropolitan Auto Theft Task Force (CMATT), comprised of personnel from across the metro area. CMATT received assistance from Denver PD, Commerce City PD, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, and U.S. Marshals.

Gomez was booked into the Jefferson County jail Friday night. He has outstanding warrants with eight metro area police agencies.

Maestas was placed in the Arapahoe County jail.

Logan Smith

Logan Smith is an assignment desk editor at CBS Colorado in Denver with more than 30 years of journalism experience in digital, television and print media.