The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Charged with intent to distribute nine ounces of cocaine
A Mt. Crested Butte resident was taken into custody by the Gunnison County sheriff’s department last week based on an arrest warrant that connects him to a large Front Range cocaine distribution ring.
Jonathan “Brock” Smith, 56, is facing a single charge of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute after police caught him in Denver several months ago with nine ounces of cocaine. The charge is a class three felony that carries a minimum bond of $25,000, according to Jefferson County District Attorney public information officer Pam Russell.
On June 30, the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office announced that they had arrested 30 suspects in connection with an alleged Front Range drug ring, including Smith. A Colorado grand jury indicted 34 people in the Denver Metro area who they suspect are members of the organization.
The investigation, dubbed Operation Shoestring, began following a single drug arrest made in September last year. The investigation was led by the West Metro Drug Task Force and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
According to a press release issued by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office on June 30, agents working on the investigation “disabled a major four-tier drug trafficking ring that is alleged to have been bringing 50 kilograms of cocaine into the Denver metro area each month.”
During the investigation, authorities seized six kilograms of cocaine and 20 pounds of marijuana. “They also seized well over $5 million in U.S. currency and six handguns,” the release states.
According to the indictment, the leader of the organization was Martin Vega-Beleta, who traveled between Phoenix, Ariz. and Colorado exchanging cash and arranging for the delivery of drugs to Denver. The source of the drugs is believed to be a connection Vega-Beleta has in Mexico.
Russell says Smith was first taken into custody on February 15. That morning, Smith met with Alejandro Banuelos-Serna in northeast Denver, where he allegedly exchanged cash and took possession of the drugs. Banuelos-Serna is believed to be a member of the third tier of the drug ring, meaning he purchased cocaine one or two kilograms at a time and then sold it by the ounce to other distributors.
Smith was stopped by police officers following the deal, and was found with nine ounces of cocaine, carrying a street value of $25,000, Russell says.
Russell says Smith was taken into custody, the drugs were confiscated and he was booked into the Jefferson County Jail and subsequently released. “They booked him into the jail and then just released him, pending the filing of charges,” Russell says.
At that point, Russell says, Smith would have known that he was being investigated, and did not have to bond out.
The indictment against Smith was filed by a Colorado grand jury on Wednesday, June 25.
Mt. Crested Butte police chief Hank Smith says his department was given an arrest warrant for Brock Smith on Wednesday night and asked by the DEA to make the arrest on Thursday morning. “We had no idea what the story was. All we knew is it was a warrant for dangerous drugs,” the police chief says.
Officers attempted to contact Smith at his Mt. Crested Butte residence early on Thursday, but nobody answered the door, the police chief says. “His attorney called here later and asked what we had been at the house for. He apparently knew there was some warrant,” Chief Smith says.
Chief Smith says the attorney inquired about the bond amount, then indicated Brock Smith would turn himself in. Later that day, Brock Smith went to the Gunnison County Courthouse and was taken into custody by the Sheriff’s department.
The police chief says he isn’t sure if Brock Smith intended to sell the cocaine in the Crested Butte area. However, cocaine has been discovered in other unrelated cases and Chief Smith says, “It gets here somehow.”
Brock Smith is scheduled to appear in Jefferson County Court on Wednesday, July 9, Russell says.
Chief Smith says Brock Smith is a full-time resident of Mt. Crested Butte, and previously owned a local property management company. “He’s been here a long time,” Chief Smith says.
As of press time, Brock Smith could not be contacted.
