Boulder police investigating University Hill burglaries during CU Buffs game

Sep. 11—Boulder police are asking victims to step forward after a man was arrested and accused of burglarizing University Hill homes the morning of the Nebraska-Colorado football game.

At 9 a.m. Saturday, Boulder police responded to a residence on 10th Street after homeowners called and said someone tried to break in, according to the release. The man left the residence, and an hour later, police spotted a man fitting that description in the same area. Officers attempted to take him into custody. However, they lost sight of him an alley between 12th and 13th streets.

Officers then began receiving calls of homes being broken into in the area, possibly as early at 7:30 a.m., according to the release.

Officers continued searching the area before again spotting the suspect, who was now wearing different clothes, according to the release.

The man, identified as Patrick Sean Gillespie, was taken into custody on suspicion of five counts of burglary, criminal mischief, possession of burglary tools, obstruction, five counts of theft and 12 counts of possession of a financial transaction device.

He is being held on $30,000 bond and is set for a formal filing of charges on Wednesday. His booking photo was not immediately available.

Police do believe that Gillespie “took advantage” of the fact that many community members were gathered at University of Colorado Boulder’s Folsom Field for a morning Buffs game.

While police identified Gillespie as being from Kansas, Gillespie has an extensive criminal history in Boulder County, including burglary, trespassing and theft related cases. He was sentenced to four years in prison on a 2005 burglary conviction and most recently was sentenced to time served on a 2017 identity theft case.

Boulder police are asking that anyone who may be a victim of the Saturday burglaries call dispatch at 303-441-3333 and reference case no. 23-9023.