Three Men Using a Stolen Police Uniform Kidnap Family at Gunpoint and Demand Ransom

DENVER—Three men, Tracy Morgan (aka Tre Dog), age 40, of Denver; Killiu Ford (aka Caveman), age 37, of Aurora; and Augustus Sanford (aka Turk), age 34, of Denver, were indicted by a federal grand jury yesterday on charges including kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, as well as felony federal gun charges. One of the three defendants, Sanford, is currently in state custody on unrelated charges. Late last night Denver Metro Gang Safe Streets Task Force agents and the Aurora Police Department arrested Ford at his Aurora home without incident. Morgan is currently considered a fugitive. Ford appeared in U.S. District Court in Denver this afternoon, where he was advised of the charges pending against them. No court date has been set for Sanford.

According to the indictment, on September 22, 2009, within the State and District of Colorado, the defendants, did willfully and unlawfully seize, confine, kidnap, abduct, and carry away an adult male victim, an adult female victim, and two juvenile victims, holding them for ransom and reward, and using a cellular telephone, the Internet and a global positioning system (GPS) in the process.

From August 2009 through September 23, 2009, the three defendants knowingly and intentionally conspired with each other and others known and unknown to the grand jury, to kidnap and rob the male victim. It was the primary object of the conspiracy to kidnap and rob the male victim with the assistance of a GPS tracking system installed on the victim’s car. In furtherance of the conspiracy, the defendants discussed their plans with others, purchased a GPS tracker on the Internet, and called the adult victim requesting a delivery of cocaine so that Morgan and Ford could attach the tracker to the victim’s car. At some point during September 2009, the male victim received a call requesting the delivery of the cocaine. During the delivery of the cocaine the defendants attached the GPS tracker to the victim’s car. For the next few weeks, Morgan and Ford monitored the vehicle’s movement by using a computer to follow the tracker. Through use of the monitoring, the defendants were able to determine where the victim and his family lived, as well as his habits and patterns.

Prior to leaving to carry out the robbery, Morgan, Ford and Sanford assembled at an unindicted co-conspirator’s house. Sanford was wearing a stolen Denver Police Department uniform that he had obtained from a juvenile whose father was a Denver police officer, in exchange for drugs. All of the defendants brought guns to use during the robbery. Before leaving the house, the defendants used a computer to determine the location of the victim by use of the tracker. After the defendants left, Morgan called the unindicted co-conspirator several times to ask him to check the computer for the current location of the victim. On the last call, Morgan was given the location.

At approximately 11 p.m. on September 22, 2009, the defendants located the victim in Edgewater, Colorado. As the male victim and his wife placed their two young daughters into car seats in the rear of their car, the defendants jumped out of their various vehicles, with their guns drawn, and announced they were the police. One man ordered the male victim’s wife at gun point into the passenger seat of her car and he then got into the driver’s seat. The gunman then drove the adult female victim and her two children to their home in Thornton, Colorado. When they arrived at the home, between three and five men entered the home, including all three defendants, and began ransacking the house. They demanded that the female victim show them where the drugs and money were inside the residence.

When the female victim denied knowing anything about drugs or money, Morgan ordered one of the men to grab one of the female victim’s young daughters. The man carried juvenile one up the stairs and Morgan pointed a gun at juvenile one’s head. At that point the adult female victim pointed out where money was hidden and the men grabbed a box containing approximately $30,000 in cash. The men also took some jewelry, a watch and a camera. They then fled in different vehicles. The men in Sanford’s vehicle stopped along 104th Avenue in Thornton and pushed the male victim out of the car and onto the side of the road before pulling away.

The indictment also alleges that the defendants possessed firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence, which in this case was the kidnapping. Morgan and Ford were also charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

“Because of the violent nature of this crime and the means by which it was accomplished, the full force of our law enforcement resources are focused on this case,” said U.S. Attorney John Walsh.

“These indictments represent the types of violent crime associated with the complex gang investigations conducted by the Denver Safe Streets Metro Gang Task Force,” said Denver FBI Special Agent in Charge James Yacone. “These arrests are the culmination of a two-year investigation into the drug trafficking activities of several local organizations and their out of state sources of supply. In 2006 the kidnapping statutes were enhanced to broaden federal jurisdiction. This case represents the first time the Denver Safe Streets Metro Gang Task Force has used the new statutes.”

If convicted, all three defendants face not less than 20 years, and not more than life imprisonment, and up to a $250,000 fine, for two counts of kidnapping using a cellular phone, the Internet and a Global Positioning System. They also face not less than 25 years, and not more than life imprisonment, and up to a $250,000 fine, for two counts of kidnapping using a cellular phone, the Internet and a Global Positioning System. All three defendants face not more than life and up to a $250,000 fine for conspiring to kidnap and rob an individual. They all face not less than seven years, and not more than life for using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, which must run consecutive to any other term of imprisonment imposed. Lastly, Morgan and Ford face not more than 10 years’ imprisonment, and up to $250,000 fine for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

This case was investigated by the Denver Metro Gang Safe Streets Task Force, which is comprised of FBI, IRS, ICE HSI, Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Aurora Police Department, Colorado State Patrol, Commerce City Police Department, Denver District Attorney’s Office, Denver Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Thornton Police Department. Members of the Colorado Joint Counterdrug Task Force participated as well.

The defendants are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Covell.

The charges contained in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.