Police says N.M. man stole snow plow
The Aspen Times
A New Mexico blackjack dealer was among four people arrested by local and state authorities on at least one felony charge over the four-day Winter X Games period, Pitkin County District Court and law enforcement records show.
Michael James Vickery, 39, of Tularosa, N.M., was arrested early Friday morning by Aspen police following a call to emergency dispatchers involving a vehicle theft in the Aspen Meadows area.
According to an affidavit by police officer Adam Loudon, the vehicle that allegedly was stolen was described as a purple Jeep with a snow plow on the front. Loudon and two other Aspen officers found the running vehicle — with Vickery in the driver’s seat and the plow in the working position — on North Third Street sometime around 3 a.m., the affidavit says.
“Officer (Dave) Rosselot asked Vickery where he got the Jeep from,” Loudon wrote. “Vickery said he did not know.”
Vickery told police he had consumed about 10 beers, the affidavit states. He provided a voluntary breath sample that placed him at a breath-alcohol level of 0.154, nearly twice the legal limit used as a minimum standard for DUI.
Vickery was released from the Pitkin County Jail on Friday afternoon after posting $2,500 bond. He faces charges of aggravated motor theft, a felony and three misdemeanors: DUI, DUI per se and careless driving.
The other felony arrests are:
• Justin Casey Shaaf, 31, of Glenwood Springs. He was arrested by the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday evening at Buttermilk Mountain during the X Games.
Following a tip of two men conducting a drug transaction in a bathroom, deputies found Shaaf and another man in front of Bumps restaurant. At the request of deputies, Shaaf produced a bag of marijuana — a violation of a previous court order — but said he held a medical marijuana card. It was later confirmed that the court order prohibits Shaaf from possessing or consuming alcohol or controlled substances, according to an arrest affidavit.
“While transporting Shaaf to the jail he became very emotional and offered up that he had been ‘smoking weed all summer and fall’ and further said, ‘I haven’t gotten caught ’til now,’ ” Deputy Tiffani Delaney wrote in the affidavit.
Shaaf was released Friday on $1,000 bond. He faces a bail violation on a felony, which is a felony, and violation of a protection order, a misdemeanor.
• Connor Marshall Milhous, 19, a student in Fort Collins. He was arrested Friday evening by the Colorado State Patrol on Highway 82 just west of Aspen after he failed to drive in a designated lane, authorities said.
According to an arrest affidavit by Trooper C.H. Smart, Milhous was in the process of being arrested for driving under the influence of drugs when he dropped a sunglass case from his coat pocket. Inside the case were three baggies and “substances that appeared to be cocaine, ecstasy and methamphetamine.”
Also found in the vehicle, authorities said, were many black containers containing suspected marijuana and two bottles of marijuana juice.
Milhous faces one felony charge, unlawful possession of a controlled substance; three misdemeanors, including DUI; and two traffic violations. He was released from Pitkin County Jail on Saturday after posting $6,000 bond.
• Landon Phillip Grammer, 20, of New Castle. He was arrested Friday evening in the Buttermilk Mountain parking lot by liquor enforcement personnel with the state Department of Revenue.
State revenue officers wrote in an arrest affidavit that they observed Landon lighting a pipe inside of his vehicle. They made contact with him and one noticed a syringe in the vehicle’s center console, the affidavit says.
The syringe had lettering that indicated it contained Psilocybin, a psychedelic compound produced by mushrooms.
“Landon admitted the solution is his and said he purchased it off the Internet to grow mushrooms,” the affidavit by revenue agent Tony Marsh says.
Described in arrest records as a lift operator, Landon faces charges of possession of Psilocybin or its derivative, a felony; and two misdemeanors.
All four men have scheduled court appearances on Feb. 3.
