A former Glenwood Springs police officer, who last year
helped federal agents investigate a cocaine ring in Aspen, arrested more than
four months ago on DUI and weapons charges still has not made his first court
appearance.
Paul Pedersen, 39, of Silt doesn’t even have a court date, a Rifle county clerk said Wednesday, the result of three judges recusing themselves.
Pedersen, whose June testimony about the top local law enforcement caused a storm of controversy, was stopped by a Garfield County Sheriff’s deputy Jan. 15 near Silt, where he lives.
He emanated an odor of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and refused to take roadside sobriety tests, according to an affidavit the deputy filled out. Pedersen also was armed, leading to a charge of prohibited use of a weapon along with the DUI count. Both charges are misdemeanors.
It’s unclear whether Pedersen was taken to jail as authorities have been tight-lipped about the case. The deputy wrote that the defendant was released to a sober party, but who that person was, and what, if anything, he said to the deputy during the traffic stop, along with other details, have not been released.
The former officer, who resigned Feb. 29 after working at the Glenwood Springs Police Department for about eight years, testified at a detention hearing for Wayne Reid and Christopher Sheehan, who were arrested last May for their roles in the drug ring.
Reid, an Aspen resident, and Sheehan, who lives outside of Snowmass Village, were arrested along with four other upper-valley residents for dealing cocaine. The ring reportedly brought the drug by the kilo into Aspen over 15 years. The six have all reached plea agreements and are to be sentenced in the coming months.
Pedersen was a member of the Two Rivers Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT), and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration tapped him to help break up the drug ring.
Pedersen’s testimony at the men’s detention hearing included statements about Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo and former sheriff Bob Braudis. The sheriff’s office and the Aspen Police Department were not notified beforehand of the pending arrests of the six upper-valley residents. Pedersen told a federal judge it was because DiSalvo and Braudis were friends with Reid and attended a going-away party for him ahead of his prison term.
DiSalvo and Braudis vehemently denied the accusations and said they were mere acquaintances with the defendants. A wide rift remains between the DEA and local police, and the FBI has for months been questioning current and former Pitkin County Sheriff’s employees as part of an active investigation into the department.
The FBI’s questions have centered around whether the sheriff’s office has been complicit in drug activity and use, allegations that DiSalvo also has denied.
Pedersen’s attorney, Lawson Wills of Snowmass Village, is a longtime defense attorney and a former prosecutor. Three judges recusing themselves is unusual, he said.
“I can’t remember ever having that many,” he said. “But Paul was a very active police officer, very involved.”
The 9th Judicial District magistrates who have withdrawn include Judge Jonathan Pototsky of Rifle County Court and Glenwood County Court Judge Paul Metzger. They apparently cited conflicts of interest because the former officer had appeared before them as a witness in criminal cases.
In April, Pitkin County Court Judge Erin Fernandez-Ely also recused herself, though it’s unclear why. Judges do not have to give reasons for recusals, a Pitkin County court clerk said.
Wills said his client’s assignment on TRIDENT and then his role helping the DEA are usually reserved for top-performing officers.
Glenwood Police Chief Terry Wilson agreed that spots on the TRIDENT team are exclusive.
“You have to be proposed as a candidate,” he said.
The DEA occasionally taps TRIDENT members to assist in investigations, though local police are not actually employed by the federal agency, Wilson said.
Wilson declined to say whether Pedersen resigned of his own volition or was forced to quit after the traffic stop. Wilson said he doesn’t discuss personnel matters
Martin Beeson, district attorney of the 9th Judicial District, said in April that he is aware of Pedersen’s role in the drug busts and the statements he made in the hearing. But Beeson insisted that his refusal to release the entire sheriff’s office report about the former Glenwood cop’s traffic stop is not special treatment.
“We don’t want witnesses to be tainted by anything they might read in the newspapers,” he said last month. “More importantly, with potential jurors our release of factual, evidentiary things about cases always runs the risk that an accused will not get his constitutional right to a fair trial.”
The Aspen Police Department and the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office routinely release arrest reports about DUIs and other crimes in their entirety. But Beeson said it is the policy of the 9th Judicial District “to not release anything to the public” about pending cases.
The case is now back on the desk of the 9th district’s chief magistrate, Judge James Boyd, for another reassignment. Court staff said Boyd may have to give the case to a Meeker judge or an out-of-district magistrate.
Paul Pedersen, 39, of Silt doesn’t even have a court date, a Rifle county clerk said Wednesday, the result of three judges recusing themselves.
Pedersen, whose June testimony about the top local law enforcement caused a storm of controversy, was stopped by a Garfield County Sheriff’s deputy Jan. 15 near Silt, where he lives.
He emanated an odor of alcohol, was unsteady on his feet and refused to take roadside sobriety tests, according to an affidavit the deputy filled out. Pedersen also was armed, leading to a charge of prohibited use of a weapon along with the DUI count. Both charges are misdemeanors.
It’s unclear whether Pedersen was taken to jail as authorities have been tight-lipped about the case. The deputy wrote that the defendant was released to a sober party, but who that person was, and what, if anything, he said to the deputy during the traffic stop, along with other details, have not been released.
The former officer, who resigned Feb. 29 after working at the Glenwood Springs Police Department for about eight years, testified at a detention hearing for Wayne Reid and Christopher Sheehan, who were arrested last May for their roles in the drug ring.
Reid, an Aspen resident, and Sheehan, who lives outside of Snowmass Village, were arrested along with four other upper-valley residents for dealing cocaine. The ring reportedly brought the drug by the kilo into Aspen over 15 years. The six have all reached plea agreements and are to be sentenced in the coming months.
Pedersen was a member of the Two Rivers Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT), and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration tapped him to help break up the drug ring.
Pedersen’s testimony at the men’s detention hearing included statements about Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo and former sheriff Bob Braudis. The sheriff’s office and the Aspen Police Department were not notified beforehand of the pending arrests of the six upper-valley residents. Pedersen told a federal judge it was because DiSalvo and Braudis were friends with Reid and attended a going-away party for him ahead of his prison term.
DiSalvo and Braudis vehemently denied the accusations and said they were mere acquaintances with the defendants. A wide rift remains between the DEA and local police, and the FBI has for months been questioning current and former Pitkin County Sheriff’s employees as part of an active investigation into the department.
The FBI’s questions have centered around whether the sheriff’s office has been complicit in drug activity and use, allegations that DiSalvo also has denied.
Pedersen’s attorney, Lawson Wills of Snowmass Village, is a longtime defense attorney and a former prosecutor. Three judges recusing themselves is unusual, he said.
“I can’t remember ever having that many,” he said. “But Paul was a very active police officer, very involved.”
The 9th Judicial District magistrates who have withdrawn include Judge Jonathan Pototsky of Rifle County Court and Glenwood County Court Judge Paul Metzger. They apparently cited conflicts of interest because the former officer had appeared before them as a witness in criminal cases.
In April, Pitkin County Court Judge Erin Fernandez-Ely also recused herself, though it’s unclear why. Judges do not have to give reasons for recusals, a Pitkin County court clerk said.
Wills said his client’s assignment on TRIDENT and then his role helping the DEA are usually reserved for top-performing officers.
Glenwood Police Chief Terry Wilson agreed that spots on the TRIDENT team are exclusive.
“You have to be proposed as a candidate,” he said.
The DEA occasionally taps TRIDENT members to assist in investigations, though local police are not actually employed by the federal agency, Wilson said.
Wilson declined to say whether Pedersen resigned of his own volition or was forced to quit after the traffic stop. Wilson said he doesn’t discuss personnel matters
Martin Beeson, district attorney of the 9th Judicial District, said in April that he is aware of Pedersen’s role in the drug busts and the statements he made in the hearing. But Beeson insisted that his refusal to release the entire sheriff’s office report about the former Glenwood cop’s traffic stop is not special treatment.
“We don’t want witnesses to be tainted by anything they might read in the newspapers,” he said last month. “More importantly, with potential jurors our release of factual, evidentiary things about cases always runs the risk that an accused will not get his constitutional right to a fair trial.”
The Aspen Police Department and the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office routinely release arrest reports about DUIs and other crimes in their entirety. But Beeson said it is the policy of the 9th Judicial District “to not release anything to the public” about pending cases.
The case is now back on the desk of the 9th district’s chief magistrate, Judge James Boyd, for another reassignment. Court staff said Boyd may have to give the case to a Meeker judge or an out-of-district magistrate.