DENVER — Another security breach has been reported at Denver International Airport after police say a man crashed his vehicle through a security gate at the airport early Monday morning.
Police said the suspect, identified as 34-year-old Christopher Alonzo, has been arrested and is facing three charges, including DUI, resisting arrest, and criminal mischief.
Around 2:15 a.m., police said Alonzo in a Lexus NX250 approached a secured gate near DIA's office building, prompting a security officer to respond. Moments later, authorities said the suspect crashed through the locked gate after a Denver police officer showed up.
Once inside the airport's secured area, the suspect drove his vehicle onto a loading dock, abandoned the car, and hid behind an electrical box, according to an arrest affidavit.
Officers later found the suspect and attempted to take him into custody, but Alonzo allegedly resisted by kicking and tensing his arms before he was handcuffed, the affidavit said.
Police said the suspect caused an unknown amount of damage to the gate and his vehicle. The motive for the alleged trespass is unclear, and it’s the second such incident at DIA this month.
On May 8, a man, identified as 41-year-old Michael Mott, of Pueblo, jumped an airport perimeter fence, walked onto runway 17L, where he was struck and killed by a departing Frontier flight. Officials ruled Mott’s death a suicide.
Aviation security expert and Metro State University Denver professor Jeff Price told our partners at Denver7 earlier this month that the goal of an airport perimeter fence is not necessarily to prevent people from trespassing, but more to slow them down.
“It's really there to be a delaying action, a deterrence action, to allow the airport and other personnel to respond if somebody tries to get on the airfield, and then the other reason it's there, and the irony of the situation is to keep people from inadvertently walking onto the airfield from a safety perspective,” Price said, which underscores how Monday’s breach was still possible.
