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One of four suspects arrested in a Denver hotel raid that uncovered 16 long guns, bulletproof vests and 1,000 rounds of ammunition insists he had just met the others and that he was not aware of any conspiracies to target the MLB All-Star Game despite early police fears.
Authorities raided two rooms at the Maven Hotel, which is one block from Coors Field, where the All-Star game will be played, on Friday night after receiving a tip from a housekeeper who spotted a gun while cleaning one of the rooms.
Richard Platt, 42; Gabriel Rodriguez, 48 years old; Ricardo Rodriguez, 44 years old; Kanoelehua Serikawa, 43, were all arrested and charged with weapons and drug offenses.
The three men, all of whom have long criminal records in Colorado, are each charged with possession of a weapon by a former offender in possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute it.
Serikawa, the only woman who has been arrested, is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and with a warrant from another jurisdiction.
Police have released few details of the arrests or the ongoing investigation. They also did not disclose how, if any, the four suspects knew each other.
Richard Platt, 42; (left) Gabriel Rodriguez, 48; Ricardo Rodriguez, 44 years old; (Right) Kanoelehua Serikawa, 43, were all charged in the raid on the Maven Hotel in Denver on Friday night
Authorities raided two rooms at the Maven Hotel, which is one block from Coors Field where the All-Star Game is to be played, after receiving a tip from a maid who spotted a gun by cleaning one of the rooms. One of the men is pictured being escorted from the hotel
Platt, who works in construction and has a son, has a criminal history dating back to 1998 and relates to a charge of prohibited weapon use. He has also previously been convicted of weapons and drugs, concealment, theft and assault charges.
Gabriel Rodriguez has already been convicted of drug offenses and several misdemeanor convictions dating back to 1993. Ricardo Rodriguez, who is not related, was convicted of fraud and drug offenses dating back to 1996.
Ricardo Rodriguez told CBS Denver in a jail interview on Sunday that he only met Richard Platt last Thursday through mutual friends when he arrived in the city from Washington state.
The hotel rooms that were searched are believed to belong to Platt and Ricardo Rodriguez. Ricardo admitted during the prison interview to having a handgun and an AK-47 in his room.
Ricardo claimed he went to Platt’s hotel room because he wanted tickets to the MLB game and was unaware of any plans to target the stadium.
“There is no way I would allow anyone I know to actively shoot a crowd with women, children and families. There’s no way, ”Ricardo said.
“I can tell you that if I had seen (Platts) prepare for something like this, I would have stepped in, absolutely. There is no way I would have let something like this happen.
The three men, all of whom have criminal backgrounds in Colorado, are each charged with possession of a weapon by a former offender, along with other charges. One of the three men is pictured detained in the hotel lobby
Police discovered a shipment of 16 long guns, bulletproof vests and 1,000 rounds. They also found drugs and a stash of money in hotel rooms.
Piles of cash are seen on the ground as officers combed the room Friday for evidence
Ricardo said there was a shipment of weapons in Platts’ hotel room when he arrived.
“They had quite a few. They had a sniper rifle, probably two. Three medium-sized assault rifles, AK-47. Probably another short entry weapon. Lots of guns ranging from 9mm to 40mm, ”he said.
“He said he collected them for his friends. He had a lot of weapons … I don’t know what his intentions were. I understood that he was going to sell them, exchange them, that’s about all.
Despite the initial fears of a Las Vegas-style mass shooting given the gun stash and proximity to Coors Park, the FBI said on Sunday it did not believe the arrests were related to Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game.
Instead, sources said the raids were likely linked to the exchange of weapons and drugs.
“We have no reason to believe this incident was related to terrorism or a threat directed against the All-Star Game,” the FBI said. “We are not aware of any threats to the All-Star Game events, sites, players or community at this time.”
It comes after sources told The Denver Channel that one of the men who was arrested posted on Facebook that he intended to “come out in a big way.”
The exact context of this message was not immediately clear.
Stephen Paddock, 64, killed 60 people when he shot from his Mandalay Bay hotel room at a crowd of musicians from the county below on the Las Vegas Strip in October 2017.
The Maven hotel in Denver is seen on Sunday, after the Friday night raid
Platt appeared in court on Sunday and was held on $ 50,000 bail. The other three will appear in court on Monday.
He begged the judge to allow him to be released, citing a new job.
“I have a whole new job… and I’ve made every court appointment for my latest cases. I did everyone. I did not miss any court date, ”he said.
A SWAT team had checked into the hotel on Friday evening after receiving the tip and footage taken by witnesses showed at least two of the four people were arrested.
Police discovered a shipment of 16 long guns, bulletproof vests and 1,000 rounds. They also found drugs and cash.
Mayor Michael Hancock and Police Chief Paul Pazen praised hotel staff for alerting authorities and sought to allay concerns that the area around the stadium is unsafe.
They declined to say what, if anything, the suspects were planning to do with the guns.
“We don’t know what we don’t know. This is the subject of the investigation, ” Pazen said at a press conference.
“We need to identify exactly, as far as possible, why (the) individuals were here in the first place, why (the) proximity to the city center. We don’t have those answers.
Coors Field will host the All-Star Game on Tuesday, but festivities have been underway in and around the stadium and downtown for several days.
Police said in a statement that visitors should always be aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious or illegal behavior.
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