Brighton Man Arrested For Shooting At Oil Field Workers

Officials with the Weld County Sheriff's Office say they have arrested a Brighton, Colo. man who allegedly fired several shots at workers at an oil field in rural Weld County a week ago.

The suspect identified as 31-year-old Tyler Van Auken, was arrested on Thursday night in Denver, according to a post on the agency's Facebook page. The post says deputies were called out last Monday to a well pad in the south end of Weld County on a report of someone firing four or five shots at workers on the site from a white SUV. investigators later identified the vehicle as a white Chevy Trailblazer.

They tracked down the registered owner of the SUV, who told deputies that Van Auken was driving her vehicle while drunk and decided it would be fun to fire his handgun out the window. Detectives spoke with Van Auken by phone later in the week, but he refused to turn himself in or tell them where he was.

With the help of the FBI's Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force, Van Auken was tracked to a Denver hotel, where he was arrested.

According to the post, Van Auken is facing felony charges of suspicion of menacing and possession of a weapon by a previous offender. He also faces misdemeanor charges of driving after revocation, prohibited use of a weapon and reckless endangerment.