GREELEY, Colo. — The district attorney for Colorado’s 13th Judicial District who was indicted earlier this year on drug and official misconduct charges reached a plea agreement with state prosecutors Monday.
Brittny Beth Lewton, 41, pleaded guilty in Weld County Court to one added count each of possession of a controlled substance, unlawful conduct on public property, and second-degree official misconduct. In exchange for Lewton’s guilty plea, the prosecutors asked the court to dismiss the original drug and first-degree official misconduct charges.
She was sentenced to two years supervised probation and must undergo a substance abuse evaluation and successfully complete a course of treatment as a condition of probation, according to a release from the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. Additionally, Lewton is subject to review by the state Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel for alleged professional misconduct. She also must perform 48 hours of useful public service.
The charges stem from a drug transaction that occurred in her Sterling office in the summer of 2019.
According to the indictment, an employee of the office had gone to a local emergency room and received a “Take Home Pack” of a few hydrocodone just for that night. She would go and fill a full prescription for oxycodone the next day.
The employee pulled out a bag of pills, and at one point after sending most employees home for the day, Lewton went to the employees desk to discuss the pills and allegedly asked “something to the effect of, ‘Are you going to help a sister out?’ or ‘Can you help a sister out?’” the indictment states.
The employee gave Lewton the bag of pills, and she pulled out the unsealed Take Home Pack, examined it, punctured the seal and put the bottle in her purse, according to the indictment.
This interaction was seen by another employee at the office, who immediately reported it to the chief deputy district attorney and the DA’s Office’s chief investigator, who in turn reported the allegation to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
At one point, according to the indictment, when Lewton found out that her alleged actions were being investigated by CBI, she threatened to suspend some of the people involved in the report. But she would later tell the investigator essentially that what was being investigated was true, the indictment says.
Attorney General Phil Weiser, who was appointed as a special prosecutor in this case by Gov. Jared Polis, said that Lewton is being held accountable for using her position as a law enforcement official to illegally obtain opioids from another person for her own use.
“The abuse of an official position is a serious cause for concern. In today’s plea, Ms. Lewton takes responsibility for her actions and is held accountable for them. Significantly, she has committed to a complete course of treatment to address her struggles with opioid use disorder. We support Ms. Lewton in her efforts to recover and recognize that her experience is just one example of how the opioid epidemic is impacting lives, families, and communities,” Weiser said.
