Sheriff Steve Nowlin said the home at 12191 Colorado Highway 145 had been under surveillance for a week after information that the suspect could be there.
About 3:15 p.m., deputies surrounded the home, and the suspect came out the back door with a handgun, Nowlin said.
Deputies and the sheriff drew their guns, and a five-minute standoff ensued as Nowlin tried to persuade the man to surrender.
“He decided not to and took his own life,” Nowlin said.
Deputies performed life rescue until an ambulance arrived. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The man’s identity has not yet been confirmed, pending fingerprint analysis by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
No shots were fired by officers, and there were no other injuries, Nowlin said.
The suspected fugitive was indicted May 24 by the U.S. Attorney’s office in Iowa for possession of child pornography. He faced a 10-year mandatory sentence, according to Nowlin.
The suspect was wanted on a felony warrant out of Iowa, officials said, and was being sought by the Marshals Service and U.S. Homeland Security. Authorities had been warned that the suspect would likely flee if police tried to apprehend him, as he had previously done, Nowlin said.
On Thursday, the suspect’s body was transported to Montrose by Montezuma Coroner George Deavers and a Cortez police officer for an autopsy.
The suspect had been living at the apartment since October, Nowlin said. Federal agents, anticipating an indictment, reportedly tracked the suspect to Cortez, and after a warrant was issued, sheriff deputies watched the residence and attempted to apprehend him Wednesday. The suspect had no accomplices, police said.
Nowlin said that because the sheriff’s office was involved in a standoff that ended in a suicide, the case was handed over to Cortez police investigators.
Along with the sheriff’s office, the Cortez Fire Department, Durango office of Homeland Security, Cortez Police, and Southwest Memorial Hospital also responded to the incident.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com