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Robbery suspect stays in custody

John Colson

Stefan Schutter, one of a dozen local teens accused of going on a criminal rampage last year, will not be coming back to the Roaring Fork Valley before his next court hearing.

Instead, Schutter, 18, will continue to serve a one-year sentence at the Grand Mesa Youth Correctional Facility near Grand Junction.

He was sent there after being arrested for violating the terms of his probation in connection with a series of crimes in Aspen about a year ago, according to sources in the local law enforcement community. Because Schutter was a juvenile at the time, those case files are not open to public inspection.



Schutter is accused of taking part in armed robberies at Clark’s Market on Aug. 5, 1999, and The Village Market in Snowmass Village on Aug. 19.

Schutter is one of two youths accused of involvement in both robberies. The other is Moses Greengrass, 19. Both teen-agers were raised in Aspen, and both are among the last of the group to have their cases decided.




On Feb. 11, 9th Judicial District Judge Thomas Ossola in Glenwood Springs held a telephone conference with Schutter’s attorney, Scott Robinson, and Eagle County Deputy District Attorney John Clune, to determine whether Schutter should be returned to Pitkin County to face charges in connection with the robberies.

But according to Clune, the hearing ended with a decision by the judge to leave Schutter where he is for the time being, partly because he is not eligible for parole as long as there is a warrant for his arrest in Pitkin County.

The youth is due to appear in Glenwood Springs District Court later this month, and the judge was worried that Schutter might be eligible for bond if he is moved to an adult facility. There is some concern, sources said, that he might pay his bond and then disappear to avoid prosecution.

Clune said Schutter will remain in the Grand Mesa facility until he is brought to Glenwood Springs for the first hearing in the robbery cases, and that the judge will decide at that time whether to move the teen-ager to a jail in Garfield, Pitkin or Eagle County.