A possible sighting of two white supremacist gang members wanted for questioning about the slaying of Colorado’s prisons chief triggered a flurry of police activity Thursday in Colorado Springs.

Undercover officers traveling on Interstate 25 about 4:40 p.m. spotted a vehicle with four men whose clothing and physical appearances sparked suspicions.

The men turned out not to include James Lohr or Thomas Guolee, who the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is calling “persons of interest” in the homicide investigation of Tom Clements. Clement, executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections, was gunned down when he answered the door of his Monument-area home the night of March 19.

But police reacted swiftly Thursday to the possibility, swarming the vehicle after a traffic stop near Colorado Avenue and Walnut Street.

“If these people were involved in the 211 gang, they’re some badasses,” Colorado Springs police officer Steve Pugsley said. “They’re extremely dangerous people.”

The sheriff’s office said Lohr and Guolee, whose names surfaced during the investigation, had past associations with Evan Ebel, the key suspect in Clements’ death. Ebel, an ex-con who was also a member of the 211 Crew prison gang, was killed in a shootout with Texas authorities last month.

Since Clements’ death, investigators have probed whether his killing was tied to Ebel’s affiliation with the gang, and whether it was a hit ordered within the walls of a Colorado prison.

Lohr, 47, and Guolee, 31, are “not suspects at this time,” the sheriff’s office said.

“We are not providing details at this time regarding specific ties to Ebel or their association to this case,” according to a new release.

The two men, considered armed and dangerous, are wanted on unrelated warrants. The sheriff’s office is asking anyone with information on their whereabouts to call investigators at 390-5555.

The sheriff’s office released information about the two men after issuing a BOLO – or Be On the Look Out – on radio traffic, a move that caught the attention of the news media.

“The truth of the matter is, we don’t know where they are,” sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Jeff Kramer said. “As soon as we get a lead, we will put every effort into locating them.”

The sheriff’s office said both men have several tattoos but didn’t describe them.

Both men have a lengthy criminal history in southeast Colorado, including parole violations, court records show.

Pugsley said the men stopped Thursday afternoon were “very surprised” but “super cooperative” with officers.

“When we explained to them what was going on, they completely understood,” he said.

Gazette reporters Andrea Sinclair and Kassondra Cloos contributed to this story.

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James Lohr Photo by Courtesy El Paso County Sheriff’s Office

Thomas Guolee Photo by Courtesy El Paso County Sheriff’s Office