Colorado Springs residents react to bust of thousands of deadly pills in their neighborhood

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Residents of a northern Colorado Springs said they are relieved to see results in a recent drug bust that resulted in thousands of deadly pills being seized by police.

Colorado Springs police released the details of their investigation Sunday night. They revealed that they had been investigating a possible drug operation since December. This resulted in the arrest of two men, Terry Belcher and Steven Amiot. From here, police said they were able to link the operation to Darcie Eschom, who they said was likely in charge of the operation. She was arrested on Friday.

11 News did further research on Eshom and found she also goes by the name Darcie Sigmund, which is the name she was booked under. This connection was confirmed by police.

Police said over the course of the investigation, they seized over 4,000 fentanyl pills, as well as 1,252 grams of methamphetamine, 11 grams of heroin, 43 strips of Suboxone and three firearms, two of which were stolen.

“It’s significant in a single arrest,” said Robert Tornabene with CSPD. “Fentanyl is an extremely powerful drug, it’s extremely addictive, and it’s extremely deadly and dangerous ... the number of pills they had, ultimately we recovered, are significant.”

The investigation all began, police said, with tips from people in a neighborhood on the north part of Colorado Springs. This is near Union and Briargate.

These neighbors spoke with 11 News. They said they noticed suspicious activity in one of the houses. Chelsea Smith, a member of an unofficial neighborhood watch group in the neighborhood, said she met with her neighbors to discuss the matter.

“We’ve gathered a few times, just to see what we can do as a group, really trying to get as much notice to police as possible,” Smith said. “So, we’ve really been calling and emailing as much as we can over the last few months.”

Police said many of the items they found were in the house these neighbors were watching. Others were found in a storage unit.

The members of this group weren’t the only ones to take notice of the alleged activity at the house. The property’s manager, Dan Watson from Watson Realty and Property Management, said he had gotten several calls about suspicious activity at the same house.

He told 11 News that the person who had been living in the house had passed away. He said he was the son of the property’s owners and had a relationship with Sigmund. After he passed, Watson said Sigmund moved in. He had tried to get her evicted several times but had been denied each time.

This information has not been confirmed with police, but neighbors shared similar stories, each sharing similar confirms about the exposure of drugs and weapons to the children of the neighborhood.

“We do have an 8-year-old daughter,” said Matt Hanline, who lives near the house he and Watson said this happened at, “and that’s why it’s been such a struggle to get something moving along, so when I saw that news story this morning, I was happy about it.”

“That’s the main concern,” added Smith, “we’re seeing more and more kids in the neighborhood, and even just going for a walk, having to avoid that entire side of the street has been stressful.”

Even after the arrest, many neighbors, while happy with the result, remain on edge. Some neighbors declined to give comment for fear of retaliation for any possible drug consumers in the area, or even anyone who might have lived in the house.

Watson had the locks changed and said he hopes to deter any current or future squatters from entering. He said he was working with the owners of the house, who live out of the state.

Eshom was being held in the El Paso County Jail on a $50,000 bond under the name Darcie Sigmund. Amiot and Belcher are also being held. They were arrested while on parole. Sigmund is expected in court the first week of April. Police said all three could face federal drug charges.

Copyright 2023 KKTV. All rights reserved.