Anna Stonehouse/The Aspen Times file
A former inmate of the Pitkin County Jail who is accused of making threats to local government officials is in custody in Colorado Springs.
Andrew Johnston, 27, was arrested Wednesday after the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office tracked him to a location in Colorado Springs, where local police apprehended him.
Johnston, who allegedly sent two threatening emails to county officials Monday night that intimated that there would be “killing” and “shooting,” is charged with two counts of misdemeanor harassment, according to Pitkin County Undersheriff Alex Burchetta.
Those threats caused the Pitkin County administration building to be placed on lock down Tuesday and Wednesday.
Man suspected of sending threatening emails to Pitkin County officials arrested in Colorado Springs
aspentimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aspentimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Aspen crime drops significantly in the age of COVID-19
aspentimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aspentimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Orange-level COVID-19 restrictions remain just out of reach for Pitkin County as local health officials wait for the county’s incidence rate to dip below a threshold of 700 cases per 100,000 people in a 14-day period.
A rapidly declining incidence rate means the county could hit that number as soon as Monday, according to Pitkin County spokeswoman Tracy Trulove. The public health department would be prepared to enact the lighter restrictions as early as 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning if that’s the case.
But the county isn’t there quite yet: the incidence rate on Jan. 31 was 732, just shy of the mark to move from Red to Orange-level restrictions, according to Sunday’s daily epidemiology report
An Aspen man is facing a felony charge after allegedly pushing over the statue of the man sitting on a bench in front of the Hotel Jerome on New Year’s Eve, according to a police report.
Alex Guevara, 39, was charged earlier this week with felony criminal mischief between $5,000 and $20,000, according to the Aspen Police Department. The statue will have to be shipped back to New Jersey for the repairs, which will take up much of the estimated $7,000 repair bill, said APD Sgt. Ryan Turner.
The statue, which is on loan to the hotel and located outside the entrance to the J Bar, was knocked over during the early morning hours of Jan. 1, according to the police report. Surveillance video from the hotel showed a man wearing a dark jacket and a hat with ear flaps push it over, the report states.