Anonymous Letter Leads To Big Time Drug Bust In Aspen
ASPEN, Colo. (CBS4) - A man suspected of selling drugs to teenagers in Aspen has been arrested. Police said they received an anonymous letter from a parent that led them to the suspect.
The district attorney's office is calling it a historic bust within the upscale city. The letter sent to Aspen police portrays Thomas Simmons as a big time drug dealer in the area.
"It might not result in an arrest right away but it can lead toward making a case stronger down the road," Blair Weyer with Aspen police said of the letter.
The letter had helped put Simmons on Aspen police's radar, but it wasn't until an incident at the famous night club called Belly Up late last year that lead police closer to Simmons.
Police say Simmons was causing problems during their investigation when Max Puder, 18, was arrested.
"He was seen in some surveillance footage trying to perhaps conceal drugs that were tossed by Max Puder," Weyer said. "So that's really the only connection we have at this time between the individuals."
It was enough for police to write a warrant for tampering with evidence. They caught Simmons at the same night club on Saturday with a lot of drugs.
"In anyone's recent memory we haven't confiscated this amount of drugs in a long time," Weyer said.
In total, nearly 166 grams of ecstasy were found at Simmons' house, along with LSD, mushrooms, and several ounces of cocaine. It was enough drugs to carry a mandatory prison sentence.
"We just thought this was a great example of how community members can take policing into their hands," Weyer said.
The letter was from an anonymous father who said he believed his 17-year-old daughter was one of Simmons' buyers.
