Federal authorities took custody of three of the suspects arrested in connection with a stash of guns and drugs found in a downtown hotel earlier this month at the request of police to ensure the suspects would not be released, a senior city government official has confirmed to The Denver Gazette.

On July 9, as Denver buzzed with excitement for the All-Star Game coming up the next week, police arrested four people connected to stashes of guns, ammunition, thousands in cash and drugs. They remained in custody in Denver until a week later, when authorities turned suspects Gabriel Rodriguez, Ricardo Rodriguez and Richard Platt over to a federal agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

They each face a federal count of possession of a weapon or ammunition by a prohibited person, and Gabriel Rodriguez faces a charge of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

Denver Police put the suspects on a strategic hold and then asked the U.S. Attorney to hold the suspects on federal charges to prevent their release, confirmed the official, who spoke with The Denver Gazette anonymously because the case is ongoing.

The official said police feared the suspects would be granted pretrial release on personal recognizance bonds. In an email, a spokesperson for the Denver District Attorney’s Office said prosecutors objected to defense attorneys’ request for the suspects’ release on PR bonds.

The Denver Police Department declined to comment through a spokesperson. The Denver Gazette has also reached out to the suspects’ defense attorneys for comment.

The three turned over to federal custody each have criminal histories in Colorado. Ricardo Rodriguez has previous felony convictions in Washington, Idaho and Colorado, according to the affidavits filed in their federal cases, including for possession of a controlled substance, forgery and criminal impersonation.

Gabriel Rodriguez’ previous convictions include drug possession, the affidavits say.

Earlier this month, The Denver Gazette confirmed Richard Platt had contact in April with police in Boulder, where he lived at the time. The officers learned he had an open warrant in Douglas County but declined to arrest him. The warrant stemmed from a June 2020 arrest by Lone Tree police on suspicion of possession of a weapon by a previous offender, violation of a protection order and drug possession. 

Platt also has previous convictions for theft and felony menacing, court records show.

Detention orders for Gabriel Rodriguez and Ricardo Rodriguez show they did not contest their pretrial detention.

Mayor Michael Hancock expressed his frustration with the quick release of such suspects from custody in his State of the City address Monday.

In Denver, he said, the recent spike in violent crime “is being compounded by the release of violent criminals too quickly from custody, putting them right back in the community to reoffend.”

In an interview with The Denver Gazette after his address, Hancock declined to point a finger at any particular office or agency for the problem, instead saying state law related to release on personal recognizance bonds needs changing. He also said he believes the issue of releasing people who commit violent crimes too quickly predates policies jails adopted to manage inmate populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Whether COVID or not, we don’t want violent criminals on our streets; I don’t care what’s going on in society. We simply need to keep people safe and there’s no excuse for releasing a violent criminal when we know they have a propensity to commit violent crimes.”

Federal court records show preliminary examinations in Platt and Ricardo Rodriguez’ cases scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday . Gabriel Rodriguez’ case has a preliminary examination at 2 p.m. Thursday.