GRAND JUNCTION, CO — A 29-year-old Rifle man was arrested early Wednesday morning after deputies caught him with a backpack full of stolen goods while checking vehicle door handles in a Grand Junction neighborhood.
On July 1, 2026, at approximately 3:20 a.m., deputies with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a suspicious person pulling on car door handles in the 2900 block of Mesa Avenue.
While searching the area, deputies located and detained a man matching the suspect’s description. The suspect initially provided a false name, but deputies were able to positively identify him as Skyler Kemp, 29, of Rifle, Colorado.
A search of Kemp’s backpack revealed multiple items belonging to residents in the surrounding neighborhood. Deputies contacted several of the victims—some of whom were unaware they had been robbed—and returned their stolen property. The property that could not immediately be returned to its owners was booked into evidence.
Kemp was transported to the Mesa County Detention Facility and booked on an outstanding warrant from another jurisdiction, along with a lengthy list of new charges:
- Criminal Possession of Four or More Financial Devices (Class 5 Felony)
- Criminal Possession of an Identification Document – Two or More (Class 6 Felony)
- 1st Degree Criminal Auto Trespass with Intent to Commit Crime (3 Counts – Misdemeanor 1)
- Violation of a Protection Order (2 Counts – Misdemeanor 2)
- False Reporting of Identifying Information to Law Enforcement (Misdemeanor 2)
- Theft ($300-$1,000) from Motor Vehicle (Misdemeanor 2)
- Unlawful Possession of a Schedule I/II Controlled Substance (Drug Misdemeanor 1)
- Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Drug Petty Offense)
- Unauthorized Use of Financial Transaction Device <$300 (Petty Offense)
- Fugitive Other Jurisdiction Warrant