Larimer County man sentenced to 48 years after storage unit standoff
Published on June 03, 2026
GREELEY, Colo. (Weld County D.A.) – A Larimer County man was sentenced to more than four decades in prison after an incident at a self-storage facility near the Johnstown exit on Interstate 25 in 2023.
On August 4, 2023, investigators with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Impact Unit responded to the storage complex to locate Zachary Widener, who had multiple no-bond warrants.
Widener was located inside the storage facility and as the Criminal Impact Unit approached Widener regarding his warrants, Widener retreated into his unit and barricaded himself.
After several hours of attempted negotiations with several different law enforcement officers, the Larimer County All Hazards Crisis Response Team responded to assist.
During the nearly four‑hour standoff, Widener repeatedly refused commands to surrender peacefully.
Instead, he revved the engine of the truck parked inside his storage unit, shouted profanities at officers, and made multiple verbal threats toward law enforcement.
While deputies stood directly outside the storage unit, Widener stated, “One wrong move, you guys are f*****,” and “If you breach the door, you are going to find out.”
Deputies ultimately breached the door and deployed a single canister of chemical munitions. Before the canister could fully deploy, and within seconds of a deputy’s arm entering the unit, Widener reversed his truck into the back wall, revved the engine, squealed the tires, and drove through the door with such force that deputies believed an explosion had occurred.
None of the deputies sustained injuries despite standing directly outside the storage unit door that Widener drove through.
As Widener rammed through the storage unit door, he struck the All‑Hazards Crisis Response BearCat vehicle and narrowly missed two deputies.
He then attempted to crawl underneath the BearCat before being taken into custody.
In March 2026, a Weld County jury found Widener guilty of two counts of attempted first-degree murder — extreme indifference — and related charges stemming from the incident.
On May 14th, Widener was sentenced to 48 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections.
Deputy District Attorneys Lacy Wells and Dustin Funk prosecuted this case.