Aspen man allegedly stole shotgun from dead stepfather’s house, report says
Aspen police arrested a 61-year-old local man Tuesday after he allegedly broke into his deceased stepfather’s home last weekend and stole a shotgun, according to court documents.
Barry Lancett told deputies he thought he could be on the property because his stepfather died, which canceled a restraining order he had against Lancett, according to an affidavit filed in Pitkin County District Court.
“Lancett (said) that he thought he had the right to be in the house since (his stepfather) had passed away because he had belongings there that he was entitled to,” the affidavit states.
A caretaker at the home in the West Buttermilk area first called police about 8:30 p.m. Saturday when she arrived and saw Lancett walking around the outside of the home, according to the affidavit.
Deputies later stopped Lancett, who was driving a High Mountain Taxi, and he showed them a key his late mother gave him to the home before locks were changed, the affidavit states.
“Upon the key not working, Lancett told us he walked around the exterior of the home to attempt to find an open door or window to gain access, to no avail,” Deputy Erin Smiddy wrote in the affidavit.
The caretaker, however, later told deputies she found a broken window in the home and a shotgun missing from a closet in Lancett’s stepfather’s office, the affidavit states.
Deputies had been called to the stepfather’s home numerous times while the man was still alive when Lancett was told to stay away and that he was no longer was wanted on the property, according to the affidavit. Lancett filed a small-claims suit against the stepfather in 2014, which was settled out of court.
