Police apprehend crime spree leader in alleged coke bust

ASPEN Moses Greengrass, who was released from custody three months ago after serving nearly seven years for his connection to the Aspen crime spree of 1999, was arrested Friday morning for allegedly selling cocaine. Greengrass, 26, was advised later in the day of three felony charges in Pitkin County District Court by Assistant District Attorney Gail Nichols. Police said he had nearly 50 grams of cocaine on him when he was arrested. Greengrass was arrested shortly before 1 a.m. Friday when Aspen police officer Jeff Fain observed Greengrass allegedly making a hand-off with an unidentified woman sitting in a black sports car in front of Su Casa restaurant on Hyman Avenue in Aspen.Fain suspected a drug transaction and stopped Greengrass, who claimed he was “just talking” with the woman.

When Fain questioned him further, Greengrass said, “That’s my ride, I got’ go.” He then fled on foot, shedding his puffy black jacket as he ran, according to an arrest affidavit.But Fain caught Greengrass in the breezeway behind the Caribou Club on East Hopkins Avenue. Four other Aspen officers arrived on scene.In Greengrass’ down jacket, which he’d hidden behind a wooden pallet, police officer Renee Rayton found a velvet bag containing plastic baggies and in another pocket small folded envelopes made of yellow “Post It” material.”I wasn’t wearing a jacket … That’s not mine, you never know what … Mexicans leave in alleys, with their cocaine in it!” Greengrass said, according to the affidavit.

Police then arrested Greengrass and allegedly found 11 bindles of cocaine weighing 12.7 grams and two clear plastic bags containing 38 grams, totaling more than 50 grams of cocaine, as well as $448 in cash.Greengrass, who has a long list of arrests, was charged with robbery in the 1999 case of 12 Aspen teenagers who went on a robbery spree. In March 2000, he received two separate six-year prison sentences for robbing Clark’s Market in Aspen and the Village Market in Snowmass. In January, he was released from the Department of Corrections and placed on parole.Parole officials placed a hold on his bail, and he will not be released even if he can produce the $25,000 bond issued by Judge Erin Fernandez-Ely on Friday.The 12 teen bandits wore masks, drove getaway cars and brandished weapons in grocery stores and burglarized businesses, including the Stage 3 Theaters, Clark’s Market, the Aspen Alps condominium office and the Snowmass Village Market, where a clerk was pistol-whipped.

Their mug shots grabbed national headlines when the gang was revealed as a group of popular and charismatic local teens, from star athletes to computer whizzes.Greengrass is scheduled to appear again April 2 in Pitkin County District Court.Charles Agar’s e-mail address is cagar@aspentimes.com.