Police continue to search for the fourth suspect in a home invasion in Golden, during which a middle school teacher was severely injured.
Caleb Williams, 21, and Julia Katharine Johnson, 19, are in custody and have been charged in connection with the May 16 home invasion. A 17-year-old male, who has not yet been charged as an adult, was taken into custody, and is being held at a juvenile detention center.
Police say there is one suspect still at large: Cody Aaron Jones, 20, who also has an active nationwide warrant for an unrelated crime,Golden police Capt. Joe Harvey said. Jones is on probation for second-degree burglary charges, obstructing a peace officer and theft.
“We are actively engaged in locating him,” Harvey said.
On the evening of May 16, Jesse Swift, an engineering teacher at Bell Middle School, was stabbed repeatedly as he fought off the intruders in his Golden home, where his two young children slept. His wife, Jessica, also a teacher at Bell, was in the home, too, and was not injured.
Jesse Swift underwent surgery last week for stab wounds to a kidney and a punctured lung and is expected to fully recover, according to a statement from his family.
The Swifts are well known in Golden through their teaching roles and Jesse Swift’s involvement with the bicycling community. They have asked for privacy and declined to be interviewed at this time.
The Jeffco Schools Foundation named Jesse Swift as the 2016 Hero Middle School Teacher of the Year.
The Jefferson County School District issued the following statement: “We are incredibly thankful that our teacher is alive and will recover … Many feel the injured teacher is a hero. Our thoughts are with the family now and we’ll support them in every way we can.”
The home invasion occurred at about 9 p.m.Three armed males forced their way into a home in the 1900 block of Washington Avenue. Police say one of the arrested suspects said the group was expecting to find $10,000 in cash and drugs, but had gone to the wrong house.
As Jesse Swift began to physically struggle with the invaders, Jessica Swift ran from the house and called 911 from a neighbor’s home. At the time, the Swifts’ two children, ages 4 and 6, were sleeping in their bedrooms in the basement.
Golden police arrived in less than three minutes from the time of the 911 call, and discovered Jesse Swift and one of the suspects, Williams, injured with stab wounds. Both were transported to the hospital.
Swift underwent immediate surgery. According to a May 18Swift family statement, Jesse Swift was in stable condition in the intensive care unit.
“He is in remarkably good spirits and is expected to make a full recovery,” the statement read.
Williams, after being treated for less serious knife wounds, was taken to the Jefferson County Jail. He faces felony charges of criminal attempt of murder in the second degree, first-degree burglary, assault in the first degree, criminal attempt of aggravated robbery and felony menacing, and misdemeanor offenses of false imprisonment and harassment. His bond was set at $500,000 at a May 23 court hearing.
On May 20, Golden police detectives arrested Johnson, a 19-year-old Westminster resident, who police said they believed was the driver of the May 16 invasion. Johnson was booked into the Jefferson County Jail, and at a May 21 hearing her bond was set at $200,000. Her arrest charges include complicity on the following offenses: criminal attempt of murder in the second degree, first-degree burglary, assault in the first degree, criminal attempt of aggravated robbery, felony menacing, false imprisonment and third-degree assault.
Williams and Johnson will appear in court for formal filing of charges at 10 a.m. May 27 at the Jefferson County courthouse.
The Golden Police Department is diligently working on finding Jones, Harvey said. The Boulder police “turned over every stone for us,” Harvey said, because Jones previously lived in the area. However, Harvey said law enforcement believe Jones is not in the Boulder area.
According to Harvey, police believe Jones may head to the Fort Worth, Texas, area because the tattoo on his neck matches an area code for Fort Worth. He also is thought to have friends and family there.
Anybody with information on Jones or his possible whereabouts is asked to call Golden Police Det. Eric Jones at 303-215-8863.
