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Eagle County police reports: Man admits to meth use

EDWARDS – A 22-year-old woman contacted a deputy Aug. 10 about her ex-boyfriend violating his restraining order.

She said she dated the 26-year-old man for about three years and they had a 17-month-old daughter together. They used to live in a trailer together in Edwards. About six weeks earlier, the man was arrested for domestic violence against her. He was issued a restraining order that prohibited him from contacting her, returning to the residence, possessing a firearm or using any drugs. The woman has since moved into another trailer next door but the restraining order still bars the man from going there.

The woman told the deputy she spoke to a man the day before, who is a mutual friend of she and her ex-boyfriend. The friend told her he saw her ex-boyfriend use crystal methamphetamine over the weekend. He said the man had been using meth four days straight. During this time the man had tried to buy a handgun as well.



The restrained man was using a different car in that period, which the friend told the woman about. The woman said she’d seen the car around her residence but not the man.

The woman went on to tell the deputy that her ex had a history of drug use. He had used drugs prior to their relationship but stopped when they started dating. She suspected he started using again around the same time the domestic violence occurred, as his mood had completely changed and he became increasingly violent.

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The woman called the mutual friend so the deputy could interview him.

The friend told the officer he had spent time with the woman’s ex that weekend. He said they hung out in the trailer next to hers and used meth and alcohol together. The woman’s ex had supplied the meth and the friend thought there were a lot of drugs in the trailer, more than they could consume over the weekend.

The friend said he has known the man to use drugs since he was 12 years old. He noticed an increase in the man’s drug use since his separation from the woman and their daughter. The friend said the man gets angry and says a lot of crazy things when he uses drugs.

The friend said while they were hanging out, the man told him he wanted to get a gun and that he would shoot the first guy he saw with the woman. The friend told the man to do what he needed to do. He said he told the man that because he does not take the man very literally – he talks crazy and it’s easier to listen and let him say those things. The friend did not believe the man was going to do it but he wanted him to get help.

The deputy ran a background check on the man in question, which confirmed the active restraining order. The officer then contacted the man at a construction job site in Vail.

The man initially denied staying at the trailer next to his ex. He said he did meth over the weekend. He claimed he turned to drugs because of the stress of losing his family in an attempt to help with the pain. He used meth a couple times in one night “about two days ago.” Then he said he used meth in the trailer from which he was restrained. He’d been staying there because he had nowhere else to stay. He admitted to using meth the last two weekends and also on the previous (Monday) night. He had stayed up late then but was able to sleep a little before work.

The man told the deputy he hadn’t tried to get a gun. He only called a person or two asking about it. If he got one he said he would probably use it on himself. He had no intent to harm the woman or the daughter.

The officer noticed while speaking with the man that he demonstrated facial movements and behaviors that are characteristic of a person under the influence of amphetamines. He took the man into custody for violating the protection order.

Deputies responded to a report of a fight erupting outside an Edwards bar Aug. 7.

The scene was quiet when they arrived. The man who reported the fight said the people left and he wasn’t sure where they went.

The officers found the fight still going on outside another bar nearby. Two 42-year-old men were at the center of the scuffle. Several people including the deputies got pushed around as they tried to break it up. A 26-year-old waitress at the bar ended up with a fat lip and one of the deputies had to Tase one of the men.

When the dust settled, the men said they are good friends and didn’t know what happened. They said it was nothing. They were from Rancho Del Rio and were arguing about their ride home because their original ride had left them.

Both men were cited for disorderly conduct.

The waitress knew one of the men and allowed him to stay on her couch for the night. The other man checked into a hotel room.

Deputies seized another illegal marijuana crop Aug. 6 after an angler reported it anonymously.

The call reported the crop on an island in the Colorado River below Dotsero.

Deputies and Bureau of Land Management rangers used a raft to float downriver from Dotsero, checking each island. They found the grow operation near mile marker 3 on Colorado River Road. Eleven plants were growing in plastic camouflage bags filled with potting soil. The plants were healthy, well-cared for and about three feet tall.

The officers confirmed the operation was on BLM land with a GPS.

It is illegal to grow marijuana on federal land, even with Colorado Medical Marijuana Registration Cards, so the deputies collected evidence and destroyed the plants.


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