According to a photograph and cation published in the weekly Pagosa Springs SUN last Thursday, current Archuleta County Sheriff Richie Valdez conducted a ‘swearing in’ ceremony for a new County Undersheriff on Monday, December 20. The newly-sworn Undersheriff is Mike Le Roux, who has served the County for the past few years as Emergency Operations Manager.
Some might think the Sheriff was jumping the gun, so to speak, by swearing in a new Undersheriff… before the outgoing Undersheriff, Derek Woodman, had been officially hired for his new position as Archuleta County Administrator. That particular hiring decision took place the following day, Tuesday, December 21, at the Board of County Commissioners’ meeting.
I refer to Richie Valdez as the ‘current Sheriff’ because he announced, earlier this month, that he would not be running for re-election in the 2022 General Election. In a modest statement, also published in the weekly SUN, the Sheriff wrote:
From the beginning of my term as Archuleta County Sheriff, I was presented with multiple challenges such as a flooded jail, poisonous gases, wild land fires, employee health, two failed ballot initiatives, addressing police reform legislation, overseeing the construction of a new jail, relocating and transporting inmates 60 miles, and keeping our community safe amidst a pandemic. To say I have been busy is an understatement. Having all of these issues simultaneously required that my leadership of this Office be the top priority of my life…
The comment about “poisonous gases” might be a slight exaggeration. Multiple tests conducted in the abandoned downtown Sheriff’s office and detention center failed to confirm the Sheriff’s claim that his staff (and his inmates) were being exposed to dangerous levels of hydrogen sulfide gas.
We covered that illusion-prone situation in a Daily Post editorial series back in 2018. “Courthouse Fantasies” Parts One through Four.
But despite the fact that the proposed debt — and new taxes — for a new jail and courthouse were twice rejected by the voters, the BOCC and the Sheriff nevertheless created sizable new debts for the County government, for two new buildings and one remodeled house in Harman Park, using ‘Certificates of Participation’.
Water under the bridge, at this point. We now have a new oversized jail… and a new courthouse… and a new Sheriff’s Office. And new debts, despite the fact that the Colorado Constitution clearly prohibits the creation of multi-year financial obligations by a county government, without voter approval.
So I agree with Sheriff Valdez’ claim, that he has been very busy these past seven years, with certain matters that have little to do with law enforcement.
One such matter appears to be the subject of a civil lawsuit filed on December 4 in US District Court; the case Prescott v. Richard Valdez et al. The complaint filed on behalf of plaintiff, Jason Prescott and his two children, names several people currently or formerly serving under Sheriff Valdez, including Derek Woodman, Warren Brown, James Martinez, Patrick Smith, and several others, including the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners.
The story, as related in the complaint, is rather interesting. We do not know if this story, as presented in the complaint, is accurate, but Mr. Prescott has requested a jury trial, so a future jury may have the responsibility to determine its truthfulness.
First Claim for Relief
(Civil Conspiracy)
In the Fall of 2020, Defendant Martinez began a personal relationship with Erika Prescott, wife of Plaintiff Jason Prescott.
This relationship included flirtatious text messages and, upon information and belief, personal meetings between Defendant Martinez and Erika Prescott.
In the course of this relationship, Defendant Martinez conspired with Erika Prescott to “set up” Plaintiff Jason Prescott with a false claim of domestic violence, parental kidnapping or some other false allegation that would lead to the arrest of Plaintiff Jason Prescott.
Defendant Martinez coached Erika Prescott to “separate” herself from Plaintiff Jason Prescott in the Archuleta County, Colorado marital residence and “create distance and promote silence” with the goal that “It will provoke him” and further coached her to “make sure to record” so that she could then make a false claim of domestic violence perpetrated by Plaintiff.
That strategy of those co-conspirators failed and so Deputy Martinez conspired with Erika Prescott to make other false claims against Plaintiff Jason Prescott and counseled her to be sure to use the terms “cocaine” and “drug dealer” with respect to Plaintiff Jason Prescott in her interview with Defendant Patrick Smith on December 2, 2020 as Deputy Martinez knew that Defendant Smith was a former federal agent who would likely be triggered by those terms.
As a result of the actions of these two conspirators, Erika Prescott did meet with Defendant Patrick Smith and made false claims and was coached as to how to frame her false claims in such a manner that an Arrest Warrant would be issued for Plaintiff Jason Prescott.
Plaintiff Jason Prescott became suspicious that Erika Prescott and James Martinez were conspiring against him and that there would be an attempt by Erika Prescott and/or Defendant Martinez to make a false claim that might cause the arrest of Jason Prescott.
At all times material hereto, Plaintiff Jason Prescott had sole physical custody of the Prescott Children under a Court Order entered May 15, 2019 from the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County Florida which provided that it was in the best interests of the Prescott Children to reside with Plaintiff Jason Prescott and provided for only supervised parenting time twice a week for co-conspirator Erika Prescott. That Court Order remained in full force and effect at all times material to this action.
Consequently, on December 2, 2020… Lisa Ward, attorney for Plaintiff Jason Prescott, emailed Defendant Valdez, the Archuleta County Sheriff, and provided him with a copy of the Court Order of May 15, 2019, which included information that Erika Prescott had staged a fake domestic violence allegation against Plaintiff Jason Prescott, and the Court’s Order providing that Plaintiff Jason Prescott would have sole physical custody of the Prescott Children and restricting Erika Prescott’s parenting time to supervised parenting time only…
Read Part Three, tomorrow…