https://www.thedenverchannel.c...-star-game-in-denver

4 arrested at Maven Hotel, police feared a ‘Las Vegas-style shooting' during All-Star Game in Denver

Sources tell Denver7 16 long guns, body armor and 1,000+ rounds of ammo found inside hotel room

By: Liz Gelardi , Tony Kovaleski , Óscar Contreras
Posted at 9:57 PM, Jul 10, 2021 and last updated 10:38 AM, Jul 11, 2021

DENVER – Police feared a “Las Vegas-style shooting” during the All-Star Game in Denver after receiving a tip from a housekeeper working at a hotel not far from Coors Field. The hotel employee discovered more than a dozen weapons and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition inside one of the rooms Friday night.

Multiple informed law enforcement sources connected with the investigation told Denver7’s Liz Gelardi and Denver7 chief investigative reporter Tony Kovaleski that they found the weapons inside a room on the eighth floor of the Maven Hotel as All-Star Game celebrations got underway.

Sources said police removed 16 long guns, body armor and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition from the room which featured a balcony overlooking the downtown area. The sources said they feared the number of weapons, ammo, vantage point and large crowds could have resulted in a "Las Vegas-style shooting."

Based on the information provided by the hotel employee, police executed a search warrant and found the guns, ammo, body armor and a man inside the room on the eighth floor.

One of the suspects arrested Friday night had posted a message on Facebook referencing a recent divorce and saying he was going to “go out in a big way,” according to the multiple law enforcement sources.

SWAT teams responded to the Maven Hotel and Wazee Street was closed to the public as investigators combed the scene. One witness saw a car being loaded on a flatbed. Other witnesses said Denver Chief of Police Paul Pazen was one of the law enforcement officials investigating the scene at the hotel.

In total, three men and one woman were arrested Friday night, along with two vehicles which were also impounded to be processed for possible evidence.

Richard Platt, 42, for investigation of possession of a weapon by a previous offender, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute (two counts), and a warrant from another jurisdiction.

Gabriel Rodriguez, 48, for investigation of possession of a weapon by a previous offender, possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

Ricardo Rodriguez, 44, for investigation of possession of a weapon by a previous offender.

Kanoelehua Serikawa, 43, for investigation of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and a warrant from another jurisdiction.

Maven Hotel released a statement Sunday morning, thanking its staff and DPD for their quick action:

"We are incredibly proud that our team swiftly alerted the authorities in this instance. We are thankful to DPD for their quick action to safely resolve this situation and will continue to work closely with them to support their investigation.”

The investigation is active and ongoing, and Denver police encourage anyone with information to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.

“The investigation and arrests were the result of a tip from the public, serving as an excellent example of the critical role the community plays in public safety,” police said in a news release Saturday night. “DPD encourages residents and visitors to always be aware of their surroundings and to report suspicious or illegal activity to police immediately. Please call 911 for emergencies; the non-emergency number is 720-913-2000.”

Denver7 is working to learn more about these arrests, and if the suspects are connected to each other in any way.

You forgot to end it with "all are innocent until proven guilty ".

With the current focus being on "white supremacists" I'm not sure this story will get much traction nationwide as three of the four are more than likely non-white based on their names.

It would be interesting to know why these four had so many weapons and a goodly supply of ammo. in a hotel room, though. Did they travel to Denver for a gun show and find some really good prices?

quote:

Originally posted by marksman41:
With the current focus being on "white supremacists" I'm not sure this story will get much traction nationwide as three of the four are more than likely non-white based on their names.

It would be interesting to know why these four had so many weapons and a goodly supply of ammo. in a hotel room, though. Did they travel to Denver for a gun show and find some really good prices?

Oh come on. That’s pretty naive! There haven’t been good prices at gun shows for years!!!!

Multiple charges of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Perhaps just well armed drug traffickers that traveled to an area with increased surveillance and got caught. We will probably never know for sure.

They must have been sharp as bowling balls to allow housecleaning in.

Sooo, they very well could've been up to NO Good...Of course, they could've just as easily been on their way to a training class/classes at Gunsite, or some other training facility out that way, as well. I wonder if we'll ever know?

quote:

Originally posted by whanson_wi:
They must have been sharp as bowling balls to allow housecleaning in.

My first thought too.

If you're there for bad intent, hang that "Do Not Disturb" trash on your door.

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:

...they could've just as easily been on their way to a training class/classes at Gunsite, or some other training facility out that way...

Three were charged with "investigation of possession of a weapon by a previous offender," two had warrants, and two were charged with possession of a controlled substance. I've never been to Gunsite or any training facility, but is that your typical attendee?

I suspect these dumbells were up to no good, though I doubt it was anywhere near as serious as shooting up the all star game.

Don’t know what the motives were, not very smart, which is probably a good thing.

They were at the very least showing off in some fashion.

I have brought guns into hotel rooms before while traveling, didn’t want to leave them in my truck. This was much more rural, in conjunction with travel for hunting. These guns stayed cased & unloaded.

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:
You forgot to end it with "all are innocent until proven guilty ".

...AND the Bad Boyz theme playing in the background

Sounds to me like dope is involved. I think this was probably some kind of pending dope deal, with the media reporting it as some type of "domestic terror" scenario.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:

quote:

Originally posted by marksman41:
With the current focus being on "white supremacists" I'm not sure this story will get much traction nationwide as three of the four are more than likely non-white based on their names.

It would be interesting to know why these four had so many weapons and a goodly supply of ammo. in a hotel room, though. Did they travel to Denver for a gun show and find some really good prices?

Oh come on. That’s pretty naive! There haven’t been good prices at gun shows for years!!!!

No, but you can get un-papered guns there using the famous "gun show loophole"!

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:

quote:

Originally posted by marksman41:
With the current focus being on "white supremacists" I'm not sure this story will get much traction nationwide as three of the four are more than likely non-white based on their names.

It would be interesting to know why these four had so many weapons and a goodly supply of ammo. in a hotel room, though. Did they travel to Denver for a gun show and find some really good prices?

Oh come on. That’s pretty naive! There haven’t been good prices at gun shows for years!!!!

No, but you can get un-papered guns there using the famous "gun show loophole"!

I thought it was the gun show Leupold.....silly me.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:

quote:

Originally posted by whanson_wi:
They must have been sharp as bowling balls to allow housecleaning in.

My first thought too.

If you're there for bad intent, hang that "Do Not Disturb" trash on your door.

Some hotels will go in no matter what to do “safety checks”. A few years ago Ceasers announced that they would go into every room once every 24 hours regardless of the do not disturb sign. It would not surprise me if this hotel had a policy to go check every room if there was a big event going on.

Just so you non-travelers know, nothing in your hotel room is secure. Even the safe they give you is easily opened by management and staff. Do no disturb signs only tell the housekeeper that you don’t want service, and in most hotels will keep everyone out of your room most of the time, but they aren’t some legally binding document keeping them out so your room is far from secure.

When I travel with firearms those firearms usually stay with me. I sometimes travel with a long gun, but it’s a folding stock AK in a low profile case, which fits nicely in my suitcase.

Right now any story which can be hyped by the media to support proposed gun control measures are bound to be circulated. This is about the guns, not criminals, and if I'm correct the stories disappear if they are not useful to current liberal narratives.

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
Sounds to me like dope is involved. I think this was probably some kind of pending dope deal, with the media reporting it as some type of "domestic terror" scenario.

Of course they did because when they haven't a clue what was actually happening, they make it into whatever story they want to to support the agenda they want to push. Given the charges filed, it does indeed sound like some sort of pending drug activity.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
I thought it was the gun show Leupold.....silly me.

And a guitar case might be good choice for long gun carry at your hotel these days...

This was buried within the article:

On Sunday, the Federal Bureau of Investigations said they were not aware of any threats to the All-Star Game and did not believe the arrests had any connection with a planned threat at the event.

Complete article, with photos of the perps:

https://www.thedenverchannel.c...rrests-documents-say

Suspect requested longer stay, room with balcony at Maven Hotel day of arrests, documents say

Three suspects have cash bonds set Monday morning

By: Blair Miller , Stephanie Butzer , Liz Gelardi
Posted at 1:06 PM, Jul 12, 2021 and last updated 4:10 PM, Jul 12, 2021

DENVER – The man whom prosecutors believe was the “leader” of the group of four people arrested Friday at the Maven Hotel on suspicion of weapons and drug offenses was supposed to check out of the two rooms he rented on Friday, but asked to stay for longer and requested a room with a balcony, according to police documents.

Additionally, the probable cause statements for the arrests of the four people say that the discovery of firearms, a ballistic vest, a duty belt and the new room request were “concerning” to police because the Major League Baseball All-Star Game events are taking place in the area.

There is a propensity for mass casualty incidents in scenarios such as the above where many people are gathered together in a small area for a single event,” the probable cause statement for one of the men arrested.

The documents were released by the Denver Police Department after three of the suspects made court appearances Monday morning and had their bonds set along with their next court dates. The documents are among the first bits of information released by the department about what led to the arrests on Friday.

Denver7 reported Saturday night that officers feared a “Las Vegas-style shooting” after a housekeeper at the hotel notified her supervisor she had found several guns inside a room she was cleaning, and that police found more than a dozen weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and suspected drugs after serving warrants on a hotel room.

Ricardo Rodriguez, 44; Gabriel Rodriguez, 48; Richard Platt, 42; and Knoelehua Serikawa, 43, were all arrested and held on suspicion of weapons or drug offenses, or warrants from outside Denver.

Platt made his first appearance Sunday and saw his bond set at $50,000. The three others appeared in front of Judge Tanja Wheeler Monday morning.

Denver Deputy District Attorney Michelle Williams said prosecutors believe that Ricardo Rodriguez “seems to be the leader of this entire incident” and requested he be held on a $75,000 cash-only bond, which the judge granted. He had been employed in Washington and was planning on moving to Colorado, an attorney representing Rodriguez said in court. Rodriguez also claimed to have worked for multiple federal agencies over the past decade-plus.

Gabriel Rodriguez and Serikawa both had their bonds set at $50,000 cash.

The probable cause statements released by the Denver Police Department confirm some of what Denver7 reported over the weekend – that a housekeeper had noticed the weapons and alerted a supervisor, and that police had feared a mass shooting could have been possible. But they also contain some new details about what led to the arrest of the four people.

After the housekeeper found the guns in one of the rooms — both were rented by Ricardo Rodriguez, according to the documents — the supervisor checked vehicles associated with the rooms “and could plainly see in the vehicles plate carriers and high capacity magazines,” according to one of the probable cause statements. The other said a ballistic vest and duty belt could be seen in a white Mercedes with an Idaho license plate.

Officers set up surveillance, and eventually saw Platt leave one of the rooms and Gabriel Rodriguez inside the hotel, at which time they were arrested. Rodriguez allegedly had a gun, meth and heroin inside a backpack he was wearing. Police also wrote search warrants for the rooms, and as they waited for them to be signed, Serikawa was “ordered out” of a room and arrested on a warrant out of Longmont.

Officers got the warrants signed and served them around 10:30 p.m. Friday, according to the probable cause statements. In one room, they found suspected ecstasy and heroin, a “large amount of US currency” and about a dozen guns.

They found Ricardo Rodriguez in the other room that had been rented and found “numerous firearms” inside that room as well before arresting him on suspicion of possession of a weapon by a previous offender.

The three suspects in court Monday had their next court appearances set for next Monday, July 19.

On Saturday night, multiple informed law enforcement sources connected with the investigation told Denver7’s Liz Gelardi and Denver7 chief investigative reporter Tony Kovaleski that they had found weapons and ammunition inside a room at the Maven Hotel, located at 1850 Wazee St., that had a balcony overlooking the downtown area. The sources said they recovered 16 long guns, body armor and hundreds of rounds of ammunition from the room on Friday.

Multiple law enforcement sources said one of the suspects had posted on Facebook referencing a recent divorce where he said he was going to “go out in a big way.”

On Sunday, the Federal Bureau of Investigations said they were not aware of any threats to the All-Star Game and did not believe the arrests had any connection with a planned threat at the event.

Later that day, Denver city officials, including Mayor Michael Hancock, Police Chief Paul Pazen and Executive Director of Denver's Department of Public Safety Murphy Robinson, assured the public that All-Star Game events are safe to attend.

“We want to reassure everyone that there is no ongoing threat, and that it is safe to enjoy the festivities throughout downtown Denver,” Hancock said. “Our police department moved in and abated a pretty serious situation.”

Pazen said the investigation is ongoing into why the suspects were in Denver and at the Maven in the first place.

“What I can say is that, through the great work of the staff at the Maven, and the great work by our officers, that this is a safer city. Taking guns off the street, taking narcotics off the street is a good thing for the people of Denver," he said Sunday.


The investigation is active and Denver police encourage anyone with information to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.