Crime spree suspect gets 25-year stretch

JEFFERSON COUNTY – A man accused in a statewide crime spree before he was nabbed by Lakewood Police was sentenced to 25 years in prison Monday.

Michael Robert Chard, 31, was sentenced on seven felony counts of aggravated motor vehicle theft, one count of aggravated robbery and one count of felony menacing.

Chard, a Centennial resident, and Brandy P. Dipple, 32, were arrested in January after an investigation by Lakewood Police linked them to as many as 130 crimes in the Denver metro area, Colorado Springs, Glenwood Springs and Colorado Springs, according to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.

Lakewood Police, following up on a tip from another metro-area police agency, saw Chard moving things from one car to another at an address on West Dartmouth Avenue, according to police reports.

Investigators discovered the pair had literally thousands of stolen items including vehicles, wallets, credit cards, I-pods, GPS navigation devices, electronic equipment, personal financial information and firearms, the DA’s Office said.

“There could be over a 200 victims and thousands of pieces of evidence,” said Pam Russell, spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office.

Dippel, 33, of Arvada pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance and theft, both felonies, and was sentenced to four years in prison earlier this month.

Chard faces another seven felony cases across the metro area and has five prior felony convictions, Russell said.

The prior convictions were the basis of an habitual criminal complaint filed by the DA’s Office for consideration during sentencing by District Judge Christopher Munch.

The status of any charges stemming from the crimes reported elsewhere in the state was not available late Monday.