Inside Attempted Murder Near Tiny Town

Tiny Town is among Colorado’s most charming tourist attractions – a miniature village filled with kid-sized buildings through which an appropriately smaller-than-usual railroad train chugs. The site at 6249 South Turkey Creek Road in Morrison has roots stretching back to 1915, when George Turner started putting together what was originally called Turnerville to amuse his daughter. Transformed into Tiny Town, it operated under various owners through the decades but had to close in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic; it returned the following year to keep making history one smile at a time.

This morning, however, the area around Tiny Town is a crime scene – the site of what the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office describes as attempted murder.

On April 7, according to the JCSO, a flatbed truck towing a trailer was stolen from a commercial business located on the 19000 block of Goddard Ranch Court. Hours later, around 6 p.m., the vehicle’s owner spotted it on Highway 285 near Surrey Drive and began following it. But on South Turkey Creek Road in the vicinity of Tiny Town, multiple shots were fired in the owner’s direction – and a deputy who was called to the scene is also reported to have exchanged gunfire with the suspects.

At that point, a chase began, with deputies pursuing the truck on Highway 285 past Parmalee Gulch Road in the direction of C-470. The truck’s driver managed to get around stop sticks dropped by a pair of Jeffco deputies on Highway 285 north of Highway 8 before heading north on Turkey Creek Road amid more gunfire from both sides.

The truck turned on to Quincy, driving east in the westbound lanes before heading into the Friendly Hills neighborhood, and then through Weaver Hollow Park. By that time, the truck’s front rims were bare, but the vehicle managed to continue around a ball field backstop as terrified bystanders looked on.

The pursuit continued onto West Swarthmore Avenue, but as the flatbed approached the intersection of South Union Street and West Radcliff Avenue, it crashed into a pickup hooked to a trailer. The two occupants of the truck fled on foot but were taken into custody about a block later. They were unarmed, but the JCSO notes that a handgun was subsequently found in the truck’s cab.

The suspects have been identified as Daniel Eugene Reach, 40, and Kaelen Alberto Bernal, 34. Bernal was treated at a hospital for minor injuries related to the crash; neither was shot.

The incident will be investigated by the First Judicial District Attorney’s critical incidence response team, and anyone with information about the crime can contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).

In the meantime, after some big excitement, Tiny Town is safe once again.