STERLING, Colo. – The district attorney for Colorado’s 13th Judicial District allegedly convinced one of her employees to give her a small bottle of hydrocodone – pills she later took – according to her grand jury indictment on four counts, which was filed last week.
Brittny Beth Lewton, 40, was indicted by a grand jury on Feb. 27 on one count of inducement to sell or distribute a controlled substance, one count of conspiracy to sell or distribute a controlled substance, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and one count of first-degree official misconduct.
Her indictment came after Gov. Jared Polis last August ordered the attorney general to investigate Lewton for allegations of "potential criminal activity," though information about the allegations was not released at the time.
Last week, Denver7 reported that Lewton, a Republican elected in 2012 and re-elected in 2016, faced multiple charges following her indictment.
But the supporting affidavit for the indictment details exactly what is alleged to have happened on July 12, 2019 in the 13th Judicial District offices in Sterling.
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.
Eventually, the employee who allegedly gave Lewton the pills admitted to CBI that she had given them to Lewton because she thought Lewton was “about to have a procedure,” though she said she had second thoughts after doing so, according to the indictment.
Eventually, Lewton also told CBI she had received pills from the employee and admitted she knew that receiving them and ingesting them were criminal acts, according to the indictment.
During the grand jury investigation, according to the indictment, Lewton had a 12-day prescription filled for hydrocodone just three days before the alleged transaction occurred, but she had also scheduled another appointment the day she allegedly took the drugs from her employee.
The indictment shows that Lewton is not allowed to possess or use medication or controlled substances that are not prescribed and dispensed to her and that her sobriety will be monitored for use of opioids while she is out on bond.
Court records show she posted a $10,000 personal recognizance bond on Feb. 28. Her next court date is set for April 13.
