Pat Sullivan Posts Bond, Released From Jail
DENVER (AP) — A former Colorado sheriff accused of offering methamphetamine to a man in exchange for sex was released Tuesday from a jail that had been named in his honor.
Former Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. was released a day after a judge reduced his bond from $500,000 to $50,000, said Grayson Robinson, the county's current sheriff.
Authorities say Sullivan, 68, offered the drug to the man during a sting set up last week by a law enforcement task force. He was the county's sheriff from 1983 to 2002 and was once hailed as a hero for a daring rescue of two deputies during his time in office.
He had been held in the detention center named after him on drug, attempting to influence a public servant and prostitute solicitation charges. His arrest has forced county commissioners in the Denver suburb of Littleton to consider a new policy prohibiting naming buildings, parks or streets after someone who's still alive.
READ THE STORY: Arapahoe County May Rename Jail After Sheriff Arrest
County spokeswoman Haley McKean said there is no immediate move to rename the jail. She said such a decision would follow a change in naming policy after the January study session.
Under the conditions of his bond, Sullivan can't possess any firearms or contact potential witnesses.
Sullivan, the 2001 national sheriff of the year, resigned in 2002 to become security director of the Cherry Creek School District. District spokeswoman Tustin Amole said officials have received no complaints from parents or former students about Sullivan's interactions while he was employed there. Sullivan retired from the district in 2008.
Amole said the district reviewed all former applications in which Sullivan may have served as a reference for people seeking jobs with the district. Robinson said a Denver detective contacted him about Sullivan in January after Sean Moss, 27, an acquaintance of Sullivan's, was found dead in the South Platte River. Moss had listed Sullivan as a reference and worked for the district for nearly three weeks in 2007.
The Denver Post reported Sullivan had bailed Moss out of jail less than two weeks before he died.
Moss' work experience included working at an adult sex toy shop, but nothing in security or law enforcement, according to Moss' application released by the district.
The review found six other applicants who listed Sullivan on their applications. Most had law enforcement or security experience that included a former 27-year police veteran. Another application listed Sullivan as a supervisor when the applicant briefly previously worked at the district in 2004.
Denver police would not say whether they interviewed Sullivan or why they wanted to talk to him about Moss following his death. Moss' drowning remains an open investigation because the coroner could not determine whether his death was accidental, a suicide, or a homicide.
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