Man gets probation, deferred sentence in Longmont hit-and-run that prompted Erie shelter-in-place

A man was sentenced to 18 months of probation and a deferred sentence after a hit-and-run on Longmont’s Main Street that prompted a shelter-in-place in Erie in January.

Albert Dias, 30, pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment and second-degree assault on Thursday. One count of leaving the scene of an accident involving injury and one count of vehicular eluding were dismissed in a plea deal, according to online court records.

Dias was sentenced to 18 months of probation on the reckless endangerment charge and will serve a deferred sentence of the same length on the assault charge. The sentences will run concurrently.

A deferred sentence means Dias’s guilty plea on the assault charge will be withdrawn, and that charge will be dismissed at the end of the 18-month period as long as Dias complies with the required conditions.

The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office determined this sentence was appropriate, based on the minimal injury and communication with the victim, according to Shannon Carbone, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office.

Around 2:30 a.m. Jan. 22, Dias hit a man while pulling out of a parking spot, drove away and then eluded Longmont police by blowing through a stop sign and driving recklessly, according to an arrest affidavit.

The man who was hit told police that he and his friends were leaving a bar and were worried Dias was going to follow a woman in her car, so the man stood by the woman’s car as she drove away while another man tried to distract Dias, the affidavit states.

Dias reportedly hit the man while pulling out of the parking lot, and the man went up on the hood of the car and rolled off, cutting his hand, according to the affidavit.

When Longmont police found Dias’ vehicle, he was driving fast and blew through a stop sign, so police stopped pursuing him, the affidavit states.

About four hours later, Erie police, on the request of Longmont police, attempted to apprehend Dias in a neighborhood in southeast Erie, and police ordered a brief shelter-in-place for the area out of caution.