Man who kidnapped woman, led police on high speed chase gets 24 years
Published on August 24, 2021
GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) – A Denver man who led police on a high-speed chase through Weld County before crashing and severely injuring a female passenger, was sentenced to more than two decades in prison.
On Monday, Weld District Court Judge Vincente Vigil sentenced 43-year-old Christopher Holder to 24 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.
In June, Holder pled guilty to one count of second-degree kidnapping, and one count of vehicular assault, after he kidnapped his then girlfriend against her will, and led several law enforcement agencies on a high-speed chase in 2020.
On December 18, 2020, the defendant was travelling northbound on Highway 85 through Fort Lupton, when a Fort Lupton officer attempted to pull over Holder for swerving in and out of traffic lanes.
The defendant failed to stop for the officer, and then proceeded to cross the center lane while driving on the wrong side of Highway 85 toward on-coming traffic at roughly 100 miles per hour. Approximately 12 vehicles that were traveling southbound had to pull over in order to avoid being struck head on by the Holder.
“The defendant’s actions in this case demonstrate that he is an absolute danger to the community,” Weld Deputy District Attorney Lillie Parker said during the sentencing hearing. “He endangered the victim to the point where I cannot believe she survived. He endangered other drivers on that road, some of whom had to take evasive action to avoid a crash. He endangered the lives of the many officers who responded to this incident. It’s a miracle no one ended up dead.”
The defendant’s vehicle finally came to a stop near the intersection of Highway 85 Business and Weld County Road 66, after he drove off the roadway, drove over an embankment near railroad tracks, and became airborne before flipping the car twice. During this, the defendant’s vehicle was less than 50 feet from crashing into a moving train.
When the vehicle finally came to a stop, the defendant escaped and took off on foot, but officers were able to catch up to him. Before he was taken into custody, the defendant started to inject narcotics in his arm with a syringe. He also took out a pill bottle and swallowed a handful of pills at the scene.
Responding officers also found a female passenger, who was the defendant’s then girlfriend, handcuffed and trapped inside the vehicle.
“The defendant’s action in this case absolutely crushed this victim,” Parker said. “She suffered serious injury in a broken back, bruising to her face from the defendant punching her, and lacerations to her head from the accident. The only thing that saved her life is the fact that she was seat belted in and, even with that, it’s a miracle she survived this crash.”
The law enforcement agencies that assisted in this pursuit included: Fort Lupton Police Department, Eaton Police Department, Platteville Police Department, Milliken Police Department, Ault Police Department, and the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.