Michael Cunningham, the suspect arrested on Monday (7/18/2022), following an incident at the Iris apartment complex, was scheduled to make his first court appearance this morning.
On Monday, Officers with the Wheat Ridge Police Department (WRPD) were dispatched to the apartment complex in response to a male suspect wearing a bulletproof vest and chasing people while armed with a machete and knife. Officers arrived on scene and confronted the man who dropped the machete but remained armed with the knife.
The man then fled from officers, running into, and barricading himself in his own apartment on the second floor. The man then proceeded to set a fire inside his residence which prompted a response of multiple fire engines and emergency personnel from Arvada Fire. Two WRPD officers were able to get in verbal contact with the suspect and negotiate with him for approximately 17-minutes. The male suspect eventually discarded the knife by tossing it out the second-floor window and then climbing out himself. Read the original story here.
At the 10:00AM hearing this morning, Cunningham was scheduled to appear virtually from the Jefferson County Jail but deputies advised Judge Moore that Cunningham was refusing to leave his cell to attend court. Judge Moore continued Cunningham’s appearance and he is now scheduled to appear tomorrow morning.
Azriel Bennett, who is accused of ramming an Arvada Police vehicle, before fleeing in a stolen care and crashing into a victim’s vehicle, injuring two, appeared in court Wednesday morning before Judge Moore. At the suggestion of the 1st Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Judge Moore ordered Bennett to be released on a PR bond. Read more about that story here.
Update 7/21/2022: Cunningham's case was heard by the court on Thursday (7/21/2022) and he remains in custody for his next court apperance scheduled for Wednesday, July 27th at 10:00AM.