Statewide Grand Jury Indicts District Attorney Brittny Lewton on three felony drug counts, one count of first degree official misconduct

March 2, 2020 (DENVER, Colo.)— Attorney General Phil Weiser has announced that the Statewide Grand Jury has indicted Brittny Lewton, district attorney for the 13th Judicial District, on three felony drug counts and one count of first degree official misconduct related to a transaction that occurred in the district attorney’s office in Sterling last summer.

The indictment alleges that on July 12, 2019, District Attorney Lewton took from one of her employees a sealed, pre-packaged bottle of Norco, a prescription opioid painkiller that includes hydrocodone. Hydrocodone is a schedule II controlled substance like cocaine and methamphetamine. According to the indictment, in an interview with Colorado Bureau of Investigation Lewton admitted to taking the pills from the employee and ingesting them at her home later that evening. Lewton also told CBI investigators she knew that her actions were a criminal act.

Under Colorado law, it is unlawful to induce someone to sell or distribute a schedule II controlled substance C.R.S. 18-18-405(1),(2)(C)(I), to conspire to sell or distribute a schedule II controlled substance C.R.S. 18-18-405(1),(2)(C)(I), or to possess a schedule II controlled substance without a prescription C.R.S. 18-18-403.5(1),(2)(A).

“Many Coloradans have seen up close how the opioid crisis has caused horrendous harm on lives, families, and communities across our state. I’m concerned about the opioid addiction crisis and that is why I have made addressing it a top priority,” said Weiser. “The allegations in the Lewton indictment are painful to behold, especially if, in the midst of the opioid crisis, she used her position as a law enforcement official to illegally obtain opioids from another person for her own use. The rule of law means that no one is above the law, and if the allegations against District Attorney Lewton are proven to be true, then she must be held accountable.”

Gov. Jared Polis issued an executive order on August 15, 2019, appointing the Attorney General as the State’s prosecutor in this case. Attorneys in the Special Prosecutions Unit in the Criminal Justice Section of the Department of Law are prosecuting the case.

The Attorney General’s Office filed the indictment in Logan County District Court in Sterling. The case number is 20CR105.

A Grand Jury indictment is a formal accusation that an individual committed a crime under Colorado laws. A defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

###

Lawrence Pacheco
Director of Communications
(720) 508-6553
Lawrence.Pacheco@coag.gov