Drug team detains 14 on felony drug charges
Post Independent
Aspen, CO Colorado
GLENWOOD SPRINGS – Fourteen suspected drug dealers, including two juveniles, were rounded up on Wednesday by approximately 40 officers and agents with the Two Rivers Drug Enforcement Team. The sweep was the culmination of a nine-month undercover investigation by team agents.
Glenwood Springs Police Chief Terry Wilson said the investigation was “kind of like you’re pulling the thread on your sweater, and the more you pull, the more comes out.”
Seven other suspects are still at large and are being sought by authorities, according to Wilson, chairman of the team’s board.
Nine of those arrested were from Carbondale, including Evance Z. Grandberry, 22, the alleged supplier for several other suspects in the bust, according to a statement issued by the team Friday.
Grandberry was arrested “in the early hours of Dec. 12 … without incident, at his home,” according to the statement.
Two of those arrested were from Glenwood Springs, one was from Basalt, and one was from New Castle. The two juveniles arrested in the sweep were from Carbondale and Glenwood Springs.
All 14 of the arrested suspects were taken into custody on Wednesday, mostly at their homes.
“This operation was conducted with the assistance of multiple law enforcement agencies who assigned personnel to spend the day of Dec. 12 locating, contacting and arresting the 14 listed suspects,” Wilson reported in a written statement. “All arrests were concluded safely and peacefully.” Wilson said at the onset, five juveniles were identified as suspected drug distributors. Three of them turned 18 during the period of the investigation and were arrested as adults.
He wrote that the discovery of juveniles in the investigation “points out the need to educate and protect our children from the dangers and availability of illegal narcotics.”
He said he hopes that one result of the operation will be a decrease in the number of dealers selling to local school children.
During the investigation, according to the statement, undercover police officers bought cocaine, ecstasy/MDMA, psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana, prescription drugs, one assault rifle, and one .38 cal. pistol. Wilson said the amount of drugs involved were “predominantly user quantities” with the exception of an ounce or two of cocaine in one instance.
Wilson said the agencies involved included police from Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Silt and Rifle, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and U.S. Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE).

Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism
Readers around Aspen and Snowmass Village make the Aspen Times’ work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.
Start a dialogue, stay on topic and be civil.
If you don't follow the rules, your comment may be deleted.
User Legend: Moderator
Trusted User
By the numbers, Basalt High School grads have big plans for the future
The Basalt High School’s Class of 2022 seniors have big plans that span at least three continents, more than a dozen states and a full spectrum of post-graduation pursuits, according to data provided by Yerania…