Police credit ‘astute employee’ for arrests at Denver hotel

By Amir Vera, Gregory Lemos, Leslie Perrot and Carma Hassan, CNN

About a dozen guns, $1,120 in cash, and a large amount of drugs were found after four suspects were arrested at a downtown Denver hotel Friday, according to two probable cause statements released Monday by the city’s police department.

The person who rented the room was scheduled to check out Friday but asked “to stay for several more days and also requested another room with a balcony which overlooked the alley way,” one document says.

Police found approximately 12 firearms and ecstasy pills, heroin, and methamphetamine, according to the police statement.

A ballistic vest and a law enforcement duty belt were found in a vehicle associated with the room, the probable cause statement says.

The hotel where the weapons were found is about one block away from Coors Field, where the MLB All-Star Game will take place Tuesday. Denver police feared a “Las Vegas-style shooting” during the game after they were tipped off about the weapons by a hotel maid, according to CNN affiliate KMGH.

“It should be noted that this information was concerning to Officers due to the location of the rifle, ballistic vest, duty belt, and requesting a room with a balcony coupled with the fact that the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game events happening in the immediate area of the hotel,” police say in one probable cause statement. “There is a propensity for mass casualty incidents in scenarios such as the above where many people are gathered together in a small area for a single event.”

The FBI’s Denver office said it didn’t think the incident was terror-related.

“We are not aware of any threat to the All-Star Game events, venues, players, or the community at this time,” officials said.

Details of the arrests

The individuals were identified as Richard Platt, 42; Gabriel Rodriguez, 48; Ricardo Rodriguez, 44; and Kanoelehua Serikawa, 43.

Platt was charged with possession of a weapon by a previous offender, two counts of possession of a controlled substance. Platt also had a warrant from another jurisdiction, Denver police said in a news release.

Gabriel Rodriguez was charged with possession of a weapon by a previous offender and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

Serikawa was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Serikawa also had a warrant from another jurisdiction, police said.

Ricardo Rodriguez was charged with possession of a weapon by a previous offender. He told CNN affiliate KCNC that he never heard of any plans of shooting at the All-Star Game and that he “would have intervened, absolutely” if he had heard anything like that.

“There’s no way I would ever allow anybody that I knew of to shoot actively into a crowd with women and children and families, there’s no way, there’s no way whatsoever. Never,” Ricardo Rodriguez said in a jailhouse interview.

FBI officials in Denver have also said they have no reason to believe the incident is connected to a threat directed at the All-Star Game.

Ricardo Rodriguez said he met the other suspects the day before the arrests and that they had multiple firearms, including a sniper rifle and several assault-style rifles, as well as drugs.

He said he thought the guns were intended to be sold or traded.

Three of the suspects appear on court

Three of the four suspects appeared in court Monday for their first advisement hearings.

Judge Tanja Wheeler ordered Ricardo Rodriguez, Gabriel Rodriguez and Serikawa stay at least 1 mile from the Maven Hotel and for the three to wear GPS trackers.

The fourth suspect, Platt, appeared in court Sunday.

Ricardo Rodriguez “seems to be the leader of this entire incident and we believe he’s a serious danger to the community,” Denver Deputy District Attorney Michelle Williams said.

Rodriguez told the judge that he “worked for the government privately for over 16 years.”

“This includes the Department of Homeland Security Counterterrorism division and U. S. Department of the Treasury for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms as well as the U. S. Department of Justice for the same entity,” he said.

The judge set bond for Ricardo Rodriguez at $75,000 and Gabriel Rodriguez and Serikawa at $50,000.

“The current court has very serious concerns for community safety given the combination of a large amount of firearms and ammunition that were alleged to have been recovered from the scene, as well as a significant amount of controlled substances,” Wheeler said.

“The presence of a high number of weapons and ammunition in a heavily populated part of the city in particular,” the judge said.

The three defendants are scheduled to be in court again July 19 at 9:30 a.m. MT. The judge said Serikawa’s attorney would be allowed to argue the bond amount again at the second advisement hearing.

CNN reached out to attorneys representing Gabriel Rodriguez, Ricardo Rodriguez, and Serikawa, but has not heard back.

The All-Star Game will go on as planned

“We cannot definitively say what this situation is yet,” Mayor Michael B. Hancock said Sunday, adding that he does not want people speculating. “If we take away anything from this incident in our city is if you see something, say something.”

There have been no calls to the White House and no games have been postponed, Hancock said at a Sunday news conference.

“They’re playing ball, the activities are going forward,” he said.

Sage Hospitality, the operator of the Maven Hotel, released a statement saying it was “incredibly proud that our team swiftly alerted the authorities in this instance.”

“We are thankful to DPD for their quick action to safely resolve this situation and will continue to work closely with them to support their investigation,” the statement read.

CNN has reached out to Major League Baseball, but has not heard back. The All-Star Game Home Run Derby was held Monday night.

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CNN’s Leslie Perrot reported from Denver and Carma Hassan, Amir Vera and Gregory Lemos reported and wrote from Atlanta. Adrienne Broaddus contributed to this report.