Innocent gets bum deal

On Nov. 16, an Eagle-Vail resident on Kayak Court suspected one of his roommates stole $500 cash that he accidentally left on the bathroom counter.

One of the man's roommates implicated another one. The victim confronted the 36-year-old man, who wouldn't admit to taking the money. The victim said he was going to call sheriff deputies and the suspect said he would talk to them.

A deputy arrived and interviewed the man, who didn't seem to know that the money had even been in the bathroom. When asked for identification, the man admitted he didn't have any except some fake documents that he used for employment purposes.

The officer took the suspect to the sheriff's office for further questioning and to properly identify him. A detective interviewed the man and believed he was innocent.

Since the man was honest about the fake documents and he had no prior criminal history, the documents were confiscated and he wasn't charged for them. However, he was fired from his job after the deputy informed his company that he had used fake documents to get hired. The deputy found out later that the man had also elected to move out of the apartment due to his roommates' theft accusations.

Their Story was full of pot holes

A deputy stopped a car for a defective headlight in Beaver Creek on Nov. 17.

He smelled marijuana inside the car as soon as the 23-year-old driver rolled down the window. The man and his 22-year-old female passenger denied that there was any pot in the car. The woman said she worked at a medical marijuana dispensary in Edwards and that was probably where the smell was coming from.

The two allowed officers to search the car. The deputies found a backpack. The woman said it was hers, gave permission to search it, and the deputies found two containers of pot inside. They also found a bag of marijuana in the back seat. The man said he had no idea how that got there.

The man and woman were cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.

Fictitious plates

On Nov. 21, a deputy contacted the driver of a Honda that was stopped at the shoulder of Interstate 70 in Edwards with its hazard lights flashing. The 19-year-old man said he was having car problems.

The deputy asked to see his driver license, insurance and registration. The man said he didn't have his driver's license with him and identified himself with a U.S. passport. The plates on the Honda were registered to the man's parents for a Chevy SUV and his insurance turned out to be expired.

The officer told the man that the plates were fictitious and that the car would be impounded until he could prove ownership, insurance and registration. The man was cited for driving with fictitious plates and without proof of insurance.

Miscellaneous mischief

• Construction signs, cones and barrels on Eagle Road in Avon were vandalized with a paintball gun between Nov. 14 and Nov. 15. The estimated cost to repair the damage is $710.

• A 45-year-old resident of an apartment on Bachelor Gulch Trail in Beaver Creek was cited for a noise complaint after being warned once before on Nov. 16.

• A 2002 Toyota Tacoma parked in the Riverwalk at Edwards parking structure was rummaged between Nov. 17 and Nov. 18. The owner was sure it was locked at the time and suspected the person gained entrance by picking the lock through a defective passenger window. The truck was a mess, with items scattered everywhere, but nothing was taken. An iPod, laptop and suitcase containing $300 cash were left in the vehicle.