POLICE SAY ROBBERS POSED AS DEA AGENTS

Three Injured During Nederland Incident

Three armed men accused of barging into a Nederland home Wednesday night
identified themselves as Drug Enforcement Agency agents before robbing the
occupants of cash, drugs and electronics, police said.

Nederland police had no suspects Thursday but were investigating the
incident, which left one man suffering from a stab wound and two others
with head injuries.

Nicholas VanHanken, 20, was stabbed in the buttocks by the masked
intruders. He was treated and released from the hospital with stitches.

"It was painful, but nothing permanent," said Nederland Police Chief Ken
Robinson.

John Ray, a 23-year-old hit on the head with a skateboard, suffered a
concussion. Matthew Young, 18, was hit with a ratchet the intruders found
in the home, police said. Police reported he was treated for minor injuries.

Also in the home were Nederland residents Sarah Fowler, 18, and Miles
Guthrie, 19, according to police.

The robbers barged into the home rented by Ray at 408 W. Third St. around
10:15 p.m. armed with handguns and wearing ski masks and gloves, according
to police. They ordered the group of five to lie on the ground. The men
demanded cash and drugs, and they ultimately ransacked the place before
leaving less than 10 minutes later with about $100, some electronics and
drugs amounting to "nothing significant," Robinson said.

Police would not say what if any relationship the groups had with one another.

"Certainly drugs played a role in this, but we're still investigating what
role," Robinson said.

Calls to the residence by the Camera were not returned.

The suspects were described by witnesses as young Hispanic men. They were
in town earlier in the evening but are not thought to be Nederland
residents, according to police.

The murder of a 20-year-old Fort Collins woman by a police impersonator
earlier this year spurred a new law that went into effect May 1 increasing
the penalty for impersonating a peace officer. Now a class 1 misdemeanor,
those convicted can be sentenced up to 18 months in jail.

Robinson said he was unsure how that new law would affect these
perpetrators, who did not have fake badges or clothing that said "DEA."

"This is certainly a serious crime, and once we apprehend the people, we'll
prosecute them to the fullest extent," Robinson said.