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No deal in Aspen man’s drug case

Wyatt Haupt Jr.
The Aspen Times
Aspen, CO Colorado

ASPEN ” A proposed plea offer for suspected drug dealer Devin Schutter of Aspen came unhinged Monday in the wake of a tactical move by his legal team.

Public defender Stephen McCrohan said he planned to file a request calling for the District Attorney’s Office in Aspen to be removed from the case. He made his remarks before Chief Judge James Boyd at an afternoon hearing in Pitkin County District Court in Aspen.

Schutter was present for the hearing.



The request is to be filed with the court no later than April 23. McCrohan characterized the situation as a somewhat “complex issue.”

The disclosure by McCrohan derailed a proposed plea deal earlier extended by the District Attorney’s Office. The deal called for Schutter to serve 30 years in state prison, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Arnold Mordkin.




The plea offer was brought forth in February.

“That’s gone,” Mordkin said after the hearing.

Schutter, 30, now faces the possibility of being sentenced to hundreds of years in state prison for his alleged misdeeds.

Schutter was arrested Feb. 20 at his mother’s house in Aspen. Police found Schutter and Elizabeth Klempf in his bedroom during the execution of a search warrant, authorities said.

The search turned up a number of allegedly drug-related items, including cocaine and products used to “cut,” weigh and package the material.

Klempf later pleaded guilty to cocaine possession. She received one year of probation and was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.

Schutter stands accused of multiple felonies in connection with the arrest. The counts against him range from intent to distribute a schedule II controlled substance (cocaine) and possession of a schedule II controlled substance.

The count for dealing cocaine carries a maximum penalty of 96 years in prison, largely because of sentencing enhancements that kick in because he has a number of previous felony convictions.

He is to next appear in Pitkin County District Court on May 4.

whaupt@aspentimes.com