MESA COUNTY, COLO. - On March 31, 2026, at approximately 11:30 a.m., deputies responded to a verbal disturbance in the 3200 block of E Road, Clifton. While en route to the incident, deputies witnessed the two suspects of the verbal disturbance driving away from the area. Deputies made contact with both adults from the van in the parking lot of a convenience store nearby. 

It was determined that a violation of a protection order had occurred between the two adults, and the driver of the van admitted to being stoned during his conversation with deputies about the verbal incident. Due to the totality of the circumstances, deputies arrested Ricky Beshear, 41, of Clifton, and transported him to the Mesa County Detention Facility on the following charges:

• Violation of a protection order, Misdemeanor 2
• Drove vehicle under the influence - Misdemeanor
• Aggravated driving with revoked license - Misdemeanor 1

Later the same day, deputies received a report of a neighbor attempting to modify shared irrigation ditch water in the 900 block of 22 Road, Grand Junction. On an initial interaction with the involved parties, deputies didn’t substantiate criminal behavior. However, deputies were called to the same scene a second time at approximately 6 p.m., and located John E. Morris, driving and operating heavy equipment - a skid steer, attempting to fill a shared ditch with dirt. 

Morris, 67, of Grand Junction, was arrested and booked into the Mesa County Detention Facility on the following charges:

• Cutting or breaking gate, bank, or flume - Misdemeanor 2
• First degree criminal tampering - Misdemeanor 2
• Obstructing a peace officer - Misdemeanor 2
• Drove vehicle under the influence - Misdemeanor 

Later that same evening, at approximately 8 p.m., deputies were called to the 1300 block of 12 ½ Road in Loma for a confrontational adult male suspected of being intoxicated. Officers with the Fruita Police Department (FPD) responded to the scene along with deputies, who then contacted Joseph Wilkinson, 45, of Fruita. Ultimately, he was arrested and booked into the Mesa County Detention Facility on the following charges:

• Prohibitive use of a weapon, 3 counts - Misdemeanor 
• Harassment, follow person in public place - Misdemeanor 
• Harassment, obscene language/gesture - petty offense
• Drove vehicle under the influence - Misdemeanor 
• DUI per se with blood alcohol content .08 or higher - Misdemeanor

We appreciate the partnership in response to more remote locations in the county from our fellow law enforcement agencies, such as the FPD. We share a common goal of working together to keep our community safe.

On April 1, 2026, at approximately 10 a.m., deputies responded to the report of utility workers being confronted by an adult male brandishing a shotgun. Deputies responded to the 3200 block of West White Circle, Clifton, on a report of felony menacing.

Initially, the utility workers knocked on the residential door, rang the video doorbell - holding up their company-issued identification, and verbally announced their presence before entering the backyard property. The utility workers were there to replace equipment. An adult male, later identified as 50-year-old Matthew Zortman, was ultimately arrested on two counts of a class 5 felony, of felony menacing with a real/simulated weapon. The utility workers quickly left the backyard property when they were confronted with the shotgun. Zortman was booked into the Mesa County Detention Facility without incident. His booking photo is not yet available at the time of this release.

Also on April 1, deputies were called to a confrontation between neighbors in the 400 block of 30 Road, Grand Junction, just before 2 p.m. John Thomas, 52-years-old, of Grand Junction, was arrested on one charge of menacing, a class 5 felony, for brandishing a pitchfork at his neighbor. He was booked into the Mesa County Detention Facility.

No further information is available at this time.