Student Robbed At Poudre High School, Suspect Arrested

A Fort Collins woman has been arrested for robbing a student in a high school parking lot on Thursday (Aug. 19).

According to an official press release from Fort Collins Police Services, a Poudre High School student reported to the School Resource Officer (SRO) that she had been the victim of a robbery at around 2:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.

The victim said that she was approached in the high school's parking lot by an unknown adult woman, who police later identified as 27-year-old Kayla Dreiling of Fort Collins.

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As per the press release, Dreiling asked the victim to borrow her phone. Then, a short time later, the suspect pointed a handgun at the victim and made an attempt to take her car keys.

Following a brief struggle, the suspect, Kayla Dreiling, fled the scene on foot. The victim immediately reported the incident to her SRO, who was able to obtain security footage to determine the suspect’s direction of travel.

Thanks to the security footage, police were successfully able to locate Dreiling near the scene of the incident and took her into custody.

A realistic replica handgun was recovered during the investigation, according to the press release. 

Kayla Dreiling was arrested on charges of Aggravated Robbery - a class 3 felony, Felony Menacing - a class 5 felony, and Interference with Staff, Faculty, or Students of an Educational Institution - a class 1 misdemeanor.

“I am appalled by this brazen crime committed against a young member of our community,”  Fort Collins Police Services Chief Jeff Swoboda said. “I want to commend the victim for taking quick action to notify the SRO. Despite the traumatic situation, her fast notification made it possible for officers to locate the suspect almost immediately.”

Thankfully, nobody was injured during the incident. Poudre High School was placed on Secure Status for approximately one hour while police investigated.

Anyone with information about this incident or suspect, who has not already spoken to police, is asked to contact SRO Corporal Jarad Sargent at 970-416-2388.

All charges are simply an accusation by law enforcement officers, and all parties must be presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.

Source: Fort Collins Police Services