Police said Crystal Burke was wanted in a new assault case while already facing attempted murder charges from a February apartment shooting.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — A Colorado Springs woman accused of attempted murder in a February shooting was arrested again Tuesday after police said she barricaded herself inside a Briargate home and hid under stairs during a warrant operation.
Crystal Burke, 33, was booked into the El Paso County jail after a shelter-in-place order near Ramblewood Drive and the East Woodmen walking trail. Colorado Springs police said detectives were trying to arrest Burke on an active warrant tied to second-degree assault and reckless endangerment involving a firearm.
The arrest came less than two months after Burke and Tristan Price, 40, were arrested in a separate case in which police said gunfire struck a family’s apartment in the 300 block of University Drive. In that case, both were listed as facing three counts of attempted murder, attempted burglary, drug felony counts, unlawful distribution, manufacturing or sale of drugs and illegal discharge of a firearm. Police said the Feb. 23 shooting narrowly missed a homeowner and left bullets near where a 5-year-old child was sleeping.
Police said Tuesday’s operation began when detectives went to the Briargate area to take Burke into custody. Officers said she would not follow commands to leave the home. The situation led to a shelter-in-place order covering Ramblewood Drive to the East Woodmen walking trail, between Yellowwood Drive and Havenwood Drive. Officers then used chemical munitions through the Tactical Enforcement Unit. Police said Burke still did not come out. Officers later found her inside a dry sump pump under stairs in the home, where she surrendered and was booked into jail.
Neighbor Peggy Fischer said the police activity quickly drew attention in the area. “I heard an explosion, and then in about two minutes, I got the peak alert, saying what was going on,” Fischer said. She said she locked her doors and her car after receiving the alert. Fischer said she could hear officers using a megaphone and telling someone inside the home to come out because they had a warrant. She described the scene as tense and unusual for the neighborhood.
The earlier attempted murder case began just before 1 a.m. Feb. 23, when officers were called to an apartment near Airport Road and South Academy Boulevard for a shooting report. Police said a young couple and their 5-year-old daughter were inside when an unknown woman pounded on the door and tried to force her way in while making statements about looking for someone who did not live there. The father told police he forced the door closed, warned that he was armed and moved to the corner of the living room before hearing gunshots from the front door.
Police said several rounds entered the apartment. Arrest records said three bullets were found near the child, including at least one lodged in a wall about 5 feet from where the child had been sleeping. The father returned fire, but police said no one was hit. The father gave officers a description of the woman, a gold Ford SUV and a man standing nearby when the shots were fired. Police stopped a matching vehicle about a six-minute drive from the apartment and detained Burke and Price.
Investigators said they found a semiautomatic pistol in the glove compartment during a search of the vehicle. Police said the gun had been reported stolen the year before. Officers also reported finding live rounds on the vehicle floor with a matching head stamp to some shell casings from the shooting scene. Police said the search also turned up 101 blue M30 pills, baggies of methamphetamine, cocaine and a glass pipe. Price also faced a possession of a weapon by a previous offender charge, based on prior felony convictions listed by police.
While Burke was out on bail in the February case, police said she was charged again April 4. Court documents described by KRDO13 said Burke was a passenger in a car traveling south on Academy Boulevard when she became upset and asked to be taken to a bar. When the driver did not take her there, Burke allegedly struck him in the head with a handgun. The driver pulled over, ran into a shop and called 911, according to the documents.
Police have not publicly detailed whether anyone was injured during Tuesday’s arrest operation or whether any additional charges will be filed from the barricade itself. The known warrant cited by police involved second-degree assault and reckless endangerment involving a firearm. The February shooting case and the April assault case remain separate matters, and the allegations have not been tested at trial.
Burke was back in custody after the Briargate arrest. The next steps in court will center on the attempted murder case from February and the new firearm-related assault allegations from April.
Author note: Last updated April 25, 2026.