This article is related to the previous incident: Disturbance, Monument Church, Broadway & 23 Rd
From the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office
GRAND JUNCTION, CO – At approximately 1:28 a.m. on February 23, 2025, Deputies with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 400 block of 23 Road for a call of burglary and shots fired. An individual residing in a church reported a male had broken into the building and fired multiple rounds at him.
Deputies, supported by Officers from the Grand Junction Police Department who were in the area, surrounded the building. They observed the front door and a window to be shattered. A shelter in place notice was sent to residences in a one block radius of the 400 block of 23 Road at 1:40 a.m. as law enforcement searched the area for the suspect.
Around 2 a.m., multiple gunshots were heard from the 500 block of 23 Road. Dispatch received a call from homeowners stating that a male had broken into their home and fired multiple rounds at the homeowners, with the homeowners returning fire. The male then fled from the residence. Mesa County Sheriff’s Office Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Team was deployed to the home and safely extricated the homeowners out of precaution. An additional shelter in place was sent to residences within a mile of the 500 block of 23 Road by 2:08 a.m.
A short time later, a homeowner awoken by the shelter in place notification called dispatch to report a male matching the suspect’s description checking car door handles on the 2300 block of South Rim Drive. Deputies, aided by the Grand Junction Police Department and Colorado State Patrol, surrounded the suspect and took him into custody without incident.
The suspect has been identified as 22-year-old Dakota Mortensen of Grand Junction, Colorado. He is currently being held at the Mesa County Detention Facility on the following charges:
- Menacing – Real/Simulated Weapon, Felony 5
- Menacing – Real/Simulated Weapon, Felony 5
- Menacing – Real/Simulated Weapon, Felony 5
- Assault – 2nd Degree Reckless w/ Serious Bodily Injury w/ Deadly Weapon, Felony 3
- Assault – 2nd Degree Reckless w/ Serious Bodily Injury w/ Deadly Weapon, Felony 3
- Assault – 2nd Degree Reckless w/ Serious Bodily Injury w/ Deadly Weapon, Felony 3
- Criminal Attempt
- Criminal Attempt
- Criminal Attempt
- 1st Degree Burglary – Assaults or Menaces or is Armed, Felony 3
- 1st Degree Burglary – Assaults or Menaces or is Armed, Felony 3
- Criminal Mischief – $2,000-$5,000, Felony 6
- Criminal Mischief – $2,000-$5,000, Felony 6
- Impersonating a Police Officer, Felony 5
- Reckless Endangerment, Misdemeanor 2
- Reckless Endangerment, Misdemeanor 2
- Reckless Endangerment, Misdemeanor 2
- Prohibited Use of Weapons, Misdemeanor 1
- Prohibited Use of Weapons, Misdemeanor 1