LOGAN COUNTY, Colorado — The district attorney for Colorado’s 13th judicial district has been indicted on four counts, including possession of a controlled substance and official misconduct.
Back in August, Gov. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) had ordered Attorney General Phil Weiser to serve as a special prosecutor in the case against Brittny Lewton, the DA for Sedgwick, Phillips, Logan, Yuma, Morgan and Washington counties.
Details about the allegations against Lewton were sparse. According to court documents, the charges stem from an incident that occurred in July.
Former Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett, who is now in private practice and representing Lewton, said the charges stemmed from a single incident involving an exchange of prescription medication. During a news conference, Garnett said he believed a jury would find Lewton innocent.
"In looking into this, I have a lot of questions about the investigation and how this was handled," he said.
Garnett said Lewton turned herself into the Logan County jail on Friday, and has since been released. According to court documents, her bond is listed at $10,000. She has no upcoming court dates listed on the Colorado Judicial Branch docket as of this writing.
The Colorado District Attorneys' Council provided the following statement about the indictment:
District Attorneys are vested with a sacred trust. We are entrusted with the responsibility to fairly apply the laws of the state and to strive for justice for each defendant. Inherent in that trust and responsibility is the demand that a district attorney be beyond reproach. Any violation of that trust casts a shadow over all of the men and women working honorably and tirelessly on behalf of the citizens of their community. It is regrettable and of great concern to the prosecution community that one of our elected district attorneys has been charged with criminal conduct. As with any defendant, Ms. Lewton is presumed innocent until proven guilty. CDAC has full faith and confidence in Colorado’s criminal justice system and the ability of the Attorney General’s office to handle this matter with the utmost professionalism and integrity.
Before Weiser’s office got involved, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation was looking into allegations against Lewton, and that 14th Judicial District Attorney Matt Karzen was asked to review the case.
Karzen, who represents a district in northwestern Colorado, said he was chosen because he was new, didn’t know Lewton, and was on the opposite corner of the state from her district.
Karzen told 9NEWS that once it became clear that further investigation of this case was warranted, he then involved the governor and attorney general.
Lewton, 40, has remained on the job since the investigation against her began. According to the Colorado District Attorney's Council, there is no state law for a situation where an elected district attorney is accused of a crime.
Lewton can only be removed from office through impeachment, through sanctions that cause her to lose her license to practice law, or if voters recall her.
When he spoke to 9NEWS in August, Garnett said he had problems with three Democrats – Karzen, Polis and Weiser – investigating a twice-elected Republican DA.
Karzen said he is unaffiliated and not a registered Democrat.
"We're trying to figure out exactly what's going on and what the agenda is," Garnett said in August.
According to her bio of the 13th Judicial District’s website, Lewton was born in Denver and received a bachelor’s from Colorado State University, and later her Juris Doctor from the University of Wyoming.
She was hired full-time at the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in 2005, and spend the next eight years working as the lead drug and sexual assault prosecutor.
Lewton was elected district attorney in 2012, according to the website.