Drunks kicked off bus, trash bus stop near Snowmass
The Aspen Times
Image courtesy of RFTA |
Two drunken men caused thousands of dollars worth of damage to the Brush Creek bus stop early Sunday morning after they were kicked off the bus for trying to start fights with other passengers, an official said Friday.
Now, Pitkin County taxpayers are on the hook for the $5,000 repair tab, and Roaring Fork Transportation Authority officials want the public’s help in trying to identify the two vandals. Mike Hermes, director of RFTA facilities, released a picture of the two men Friday in hopes that someone might recognize them.
“This is costing RFTA a lot of money,” Hermes said. “These are taxpayer dollars.”
The two males came to the attention of RFTA security at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday at Brush Creek after a loud argument broke out in the back of the bus, according to a report by a security officer. The men were swearing, using threatening gestures and trying to start fights with other passengers, according to reports from both security guards involved.
Security asked the men to move to the front of the bus, but the men refused. Security then told them they had to leave the bus, but they got angry, began cursing and refused to leave, according to the reports. Finally, with the help of a nearby Pitkin County sheriff’s deputy, security threatened to charge the men with disorderly conduct and they left the bus, according to the reports.
“We’re pretty tolerant, especially on that 2 a.m. bus,” Hermes said. “To get kicked off you have to be pretty out of control.”
The two men told security they would find another ride home, the reports state.
However, as soon as the bus and the sheriff’s deputy left the Brush Creek lot, the two men picked up large rocks and used them to break five panes of glass and one pane of plexiglass, Hermes said. Eleven video cameras at the bus stop recorded the destruction, he said.
Replacement glass had to be ordered and will take six weeks to receive and install, Hermes said.
Both men were described as white, about 5-feet-4-inches tall, 140 pounds and wearing blue shorts and blue shirts. One was wearing glasses, while the other was wearing red shoes and told a security guard his name was Jeff, the report states.
If anyone recognizes the two men, call the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office at 970-920-5300.
“Even if they were tourists, maybe someone at a hotel might recognize them,” Hermes said.
