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Snowmass man breaks in to woman’s home again

Jason Auslander
The Aspen Times

A 26-year-old Snowmass Village man already on probation for breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment broke in again last weekend and assaulted the woman, according to court documents.

Jeffrey Hartwell now faces felony criminal trespassing and several misdemeanors, including harassment, violation of a protection order, criminal mischief and domestic violence. He previously pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and violating a protection order after breaking into the same woman’s Snowmass home in November, prosecutor Andrea Bryan said.

“There’s quite a history between these two,” she said.



The latest situation began at about 4:30 a.m. on April 16 when Hartwell knocked on the front door of the woman’s apartment and woke her up, according to a police report filed in District Court. The 35-year-old woman answered the door, asked Hartwell to leave, then shut the door and locked it, the report states.

Hartwell became upset the woman wouldn’t let him in, so he kicked the door, breaking the doorframe and forcing the door open.




“Hartwell entered the unit and began yelling at (the woman),” according to the report.

Hartwell left the apartment and the woman told police she didn’t call 911 because she knew Hartwell is on probation. She also thought the incident could affect her housing, the report states.

Hartwell returned to the woman’s apartment the next morning to fix the door, but she told him to leave. However, he repeatedly called her during the day saying he wanted to talk and apologize, according to the report. The woman agreed to meet him and they spoke for about 30 minutes before she dropped him off at a friend’s house.

But Hartwell began texting her an hour later, saying he wanted to come over. The woman repeatedly told him not to, but he showed up 30 minutes later anyway. The door was not able to shut because of the previous damage, so Hartwell entered the apartment and asked to stay the night, the report states.

After the woman told him he couldn’t stay, he began yelling at her again, then hit her with an open hand on the back of her head, according to the report. He then hit her again in the head and shoulder area before a neighbor showed up and Hartwell left, the report states. The woman later showed police bruises she said Hartwell caused.

District Judge Chris Seldin on Friday ordered Hartwell held in lieu of a $500 cash-only bond. Hartwell told the judge he wants to return to New York, where he has family.

“I feel like this a recurring thing,” Hartwell said. “I do well, then I get sucked back in.”

During the November break-in, Hartwell broke the woman’s iPad and a framed picture.

jauslander@aspentimes.com

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