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ASPEN — A woman was arrested Wednesday when she visited the Aspen Police Department to turn herself in on a warrant, only to be caught with an alleged handgun in her purse.
Police arrested Victoria Valar, 52, after she surrendered herself on a warrant for domestic violence and felony menacing. Valar then told police she had a gun in her purse, and when two cops searched it, they discovered a Beretta 9-millimeter handgun with a magazine loaded with 10 rounds, according to an arrest warrant affidavit prepared by Officer Chance Williams.
“The magazine was almost ‘set' inside the gun,” Williams wrote.
Valar, a real estate agent who has homes in Breckenridge and Centennial, Colo., waived advisement Friday of two felony charges, one for menacing, the other for possession of a concealed handgun. She was represented by Aspen attorney Richard Cummins, and posted a cash bond of $2,500 after the hearing, presided over by District Judge James Boyd via conference call. Assistant District Attorney Arnold Mordkin is the lead prosecutor.
The menacing charge stems from an alleged incident with her then-boyfriend on Feb. 10. That's when the boyfriend, according to police records, became concerned about the Beretta handgun she possessed.
Valar had pulled the handgun out when a car drove slowly through the Aspen neighborhood in which she and her boyfriend were living, believing it was her ex-husband who was trying to get her, police said.
Her then-boyfriend asked her to put the gun away, but she refused. The boyfriend then called police, who did not pursue the matter further because “the situation was initially understood as being non-domestic violence oriented in nature,” Williams wrote in another affidavit.
However, the boyfriend had apparently tried to smooth things over with police because he didn't want Valar to get in trouble.
That information began to come to light after a Feb. 21 incident at the Limelight Lodge, where police reported to conduct a welfare check on Valar.
Valar was staying there after she and her boyfriend separated. Valar had the same handgun, and told police she had pointed it at her then-boyfriend's groin on Feb. 10.
“We initially understood that that situation had been resolved the evening of February 10, 2011,” Williams wrote.
Valar turned the gun over to police, who sent it to gun store in Denver. Valar, however, “later retrieved the handgun from the gun store where it was sent,” Williams wrote.
The ex-boyfriend, meanwhile, signed a statement last week saying that Valar had used the handgun's laser light and pointed it at her then-boyfriend's groin. The ex-boyfriend also told police she had a shotgun as well.
rcarroll@aspentimes.com
Police arrested Victoria Valar, 52, after she surrendered herself on a warrant for domestic violence and felony menacing. Valar then told police she had a gun in her purse, and when two cops searched it, they discovered a Beretta 9-millimeter handgun with a magazine loaded with 10 rounds, according to an arrest warrant affidavit prepared by Officer Chance Williams.
“The magazine was almost ‘set' inside the gun,” Williams wrote.
Valar, a real estate agent who has homes in Breckenridge and Centennial, Colo., waived advisement Friday of two felony charges, one for menacing, the other for possession of a concealed handgun. She was represented by Aspen attorney Richard Cummins, and posted a cash bond of $2,500 after the hearing, presided over by District Judge James Boyd via conference call. Assistant District Attorney Arnold Mordkin is the lead prosecutor.
The menacing charge stems from an alleged incident with her then-boyfriend on Feb. 10. That's when the boyfriend, according to police records, became concerned about the Beretta handgun she possessed.
Valar had pulled the handgun out when a car drove slowly through the Aspen neighborhood in which she and her boyfriend were living, believing it was her ex-husband who was trying to get her, police said.
Her then-boyfriend asked her to put the gun away, but she refused. The boyfriend then called police, who did not pursue the matter further because “the situation was initially understood as being non-domestic violence oriented in nature,” Williams wrote in another affidavit.
However, the boyfriend had apparently tried to smooth things over with police because he didn't want Valar to get in trouble.
That information began to come to light after a Feb. 21 incident at the Limelight Lodge, where police reported to conduct a welfare check on Valar.
Valar was staying there after she and her boyfriend separated. Valar had the same handgun, and told police she had pointed it at her then-boyfriend's groin on Feb. 10.
“We initially understood that that situation had been resolved the evening of February 10, 2011,” Williams wrote.
Valar turned the gun over to police, who sent it to gun store in Denver. Valar, however, “later retrieved the handgun from the gun store where it was sent,” Williams wrote.
The ex-boyfriend, meanwhile, signed a statement last week saying that Valar had used the handgun's laser light and pointed it at her then-boyfriend's groin. The ex-boyfriend also told police she had a shotgun as well.
rcarroll@aspentimes.com
