Aspen police: Local man bought pot, booze for minors
A District Judge signed an arrest warrant Friday for an Aspen man who allegedly bought alcohol, marijuana and nicotine vaping pods for local high school students, according to court documents.
Anton Tower Thompson, 26, faces four felony counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He had not yet been arrested as of Friday afternoon.
The incidents first came to the attention of Aspen police after the mother of one of the girls Thompson allegedly purchased the substances for showed officers videos she recorded from her daughter’s Snapchat account, according to an arrest warrant affidavit filed Friday in Pitkin County District Court.
The videos showed her daughter consuming drugs and alcohol with two older men, the affidavit states. An Aspen police officer recognized one of the men as Thompson — who frequently calls himself “Tower” — from previous law enforcement contacts.
The daughter later told police that Thompson purchased the nicotine — known as “Juul” pods — and marijuana more than once for her and her friends, and alcohol at least once in the past two to three months, the affidavit states. The girl also confirmed her presence with Thompson in one of the Snapchat videos, which showed vodka, marijuana and nicotine pod use.
At least two other girls told police similar stories, according to the affidavit, which is redacted to shield the identities of the juveniles involved.
One of the girls told the officer “something along the lines of ‘there is only one person I could ask (to buy marijuana or nicotine pods) and that is Tower,’” the affidavit states. One girl also identified Thompson from a photo lineup as the man who bought intoxicating substances for her and her friends.
Police were able to obtain detailed text conversations from Thompson’s cellphone, as well, which indicated his willing assistance to provide marijuana, alcohol and nicotine to minors, according to the affidavit.
“Hey bro could you get me an 8th later at 4,” an unidentified, underage boy texted Thompson on Aug. 20, the affidavit states. “Thompson replies to (the boy’s) text message with, ‘I’m low as (heck) on gas. Do you think you could give me a 20?’”
The texts indicated one thing, Aspen Police Officer Jeremy Johnson concluded in the affidavit.
“It appears from (the) … conversation that Thompson would purchase an eighth for (the boy) for the exchange of gas money ($20),” he wrote.
Thompson is identified in court documents as “transient” and without a permanent address.