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Man who was on the run for months convicted of attempted murder of Denver police officer

Mauricio Venzor-Gonzalez escaped during a transfer from the Denver Detention Center to the Denver Health Medical Center. He was on the run for 5 months.

DENVER — A man who escaped from custody while being transferred from the Denver Detention Center to the Denver Health Medical Center has been found guilty of attempted murder of a Denver Police officer.

A jury convicted Mauricio Venzor-Gonzalez, 24, of attempted first-degree murder for firing multiple gunshots at a Denver Police Department Officer in November 2017.

He was also convicted of first-degree assault on a peace officer, retaliation against a witness, and two counts of possession of a weapon by a previous offender.

Venzor-Gonzalez was a passenger in a vehicle that Denver Police officers attempted to stop near the area of West Alameda Avenue and South Stuart Street in November 2017, the district attorney's office said.

The driver refused to stop and ultimately crashed the vehicle into a parked car.

Venzor-Gonzalez ran away from the vehicle and was chased by a Denver officer. During that chase, Venzor-Gonzalez shot multiple times at the officer who returned fire. The Denver District Attorney’s Office concluded that no criminal charges were warranted against that officer.

Venzor-Gonzalez was not arrested until several days later in Aurora after a multi-hour standoff with law enforcement. A search of his hideout turned up a number of firearms including an AR-15 and a Glock 26 that was used to shoot at the officer.

During the initial traffic stop and chase, Venzor-Gonzalez was shot three times and had not sought medical attention. When he was arrested he was taken to Denver Health and then booked into the Denver Detention Center.

While he was being transported from the Denver Detention Center to the Denver Health Medical Center, in March 2018, Venzor-Gonzalez escaped from custody and evaded capture until August when he was arrested in Thornton.

He will be sentenced related to the initial case in June. A separate trial related to the escape charges is set for July 2019.

Venzor-Gonzalez's girlfriend, Samantha Adams was charged with aiding his escape.

RELATED: Affidavit: Girlfriend of escaped inmate was aware of his plan beforehand

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