Brittny Lewton, the elected district attorney in northeastern Colorado, was indicted by a grand jury on drug possession charges.
The indictment, which was served on Lewton earlier this week, followed an investigation that started last summer after one of her employees reported they gave her prescription drugs in July 2019.
Lewton, 40, turned herself in to authorities Friday and was released on a personal recognizance bond. She was charged with three counts related to drug possession and conspiracy, and a single count of official misconduct.
Details of the indictment remain under seal by a Logan County judge.
The charges followed a decision by Gov. Jared Polis to appoint Attorney General Phil Weiser as special prosecutor to look into the alleged criminal activity.
Weiser’s office spent seven months investigating Lewton and presented the case to a grand jury, which was convened in September.
“I do have questions about how it’s been handled. There have been many instances of misconduct with DAs through the years,” said Lewton’s attorney, former Boulder district attorney Stan Garnett. “No district attorney is perfect and the history of Colorado shows that … There are certain things that a DA could do that should prevent that person from being district attorney. That’s not what’s involved in this case, which appears to involve a single incident of an exchange of prescription medication.”
Tom Raynes, head of the Colorado District Attorneys Council, called the indictment "regrettable."
"It is of great concern to the prosecution community that one of our elected district attorneys has been charged with criminal conduct," Raynes said in a statement. "As with any defendant, Ms. Lewton is presumed innocent until proven guilty."
Throughout the state investigation Lewton remained in her job, serving her second term as district attorney for the 13th Judicial District, a seven-county area of Northeast Colorado that includes Morgan, Logan and Yuma counties.
Though Lewton declined to comment, Garnett asserted her innocence, and maintained that stance today.
"I'm confident if we went to a trial a jury would find her not guilty," Garnett said. "All the charges appear to be tied to an incident on July 12 that is well known and appears to involve an exchange of prescription medication."
Lewton’s term as district attorney is up at the end of 2020. For now, she will remain in her job as the charges against her move forward.
She is a native of Denver and a graduate of Colorado State University. She attended law school at the University of Wyoming and rose from intern at the 13th District Attorney's Office to full-time staffer in 2005. She was first elected DA as a Republican in 2012, and then re-elected in 2016.
Weiser’s office declined to comment.
