An Aspen teen and his parents were charged Monday with giving cocaine and alcohol to underage high school students during parties at their home near Aspen Highlands, according to court documents.<\/p>\n
Joseph Lipsey IV, 18, and his mother Shira Lipsey, 44, turned themselves in Monday morning at the Pitkin County Jail, where they were arrested on numerous charges including felonies. Both were released after each posting $100,000 cash-only bonds.<\/p>\n
Lipsey is the same teen charged in January with two counts of felony vehicular assault after he was alleged to have been at the wheel of a Tesla sport-utility vehicle in November that flew off Maroon Creek Road, injuring himself and four other local high school students inside.<\/p>\n
Lipsey\u2019s father \u2013 Joseph Lipsey III, 56 \u2013 also faces charges connected to the alleged parties thrown at this home, though he was not arrested Monday, said Aspen Deputy District Attorney Don Nottingham.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoseph Lipsey III, based on reports from community members and people familiar with the family, spends much of his time out of the Aspen area,\u201d according to his wife\u2019s arrest warrant affidavit unsealed Monday in Pitkin County District Court. \u201cThe family owns or manages several companies and corporations \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Both parents were charged with distribution of cocaine to a minor, among other charges, which is considered a class 1 drug felony under Colorado law. If convicted of just the distribution charge, each parent would face a mandatory sentence of between eight and 32 years in prison, Nottingham said.<\/p>\n
Their son faces two counts of distribution of drugs to minors, among other charges, though those counts are class three drug felonies because he was less than two years older than those he allegedly provided drugs.<\/p>\n
A message left on Shira Lipsey\u2019s cell phone seeking comment Monday was not returned. Her son\u2019s Eagle-based attorney also didn\u2019t return a phone message Monday.<\/p>\n
Evidence collected by investigators from both the Pitkin County Sheriff\u2019s Office and the Aspen Police Department includes cell phone Snapchat videos shot by an Aspen High School student that allegedly show Shira Lipsey sitting in front of a plate featuring \u201ca pile of an unknown white powder,\u201d according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n
Another video allegedly shows Shira Lipsey, her son and an unidentified man sitting on a couch in front of a table featuring a white-powder dusted credit card, a rolled-up dollar bill and three green straws, one in front of each of them.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore sending the photo, the user put the text, \u2018This kid\u2019s parents are tryna kill me,\u2019 on the screen with the video\u2019s image,\u201d the affidavit states.<\/p>\n
Those two videos were both time-stamped about 2:45 a.m. on Jan. 3.<\/p>\n
A third video \u2013 shot at 3:45 a.m. on Jan. 3 \u2013 shows the same plate in the first video with a \u201cpile of white powder,\u201d along with the same credit card and a green straw on the table. Before sending out that video, the user typed the text, \u201cAlmost did it all\u201d to go along with the video, according to the affidavit.<\/p>\n
And while none of the videos explicitly show the Lipseys giving cocaine to a minor, other high school kids saw the plate of cocaine upstairs at their home that night, and one allegedly saw the Lipseys and their son pass the plate to a minor, who inhaled \u201csome lines,\u201d the affidavit states.<\/p>\n
That story came from the mother of an Aspen High School student, who did not want to speak to police for fear of being labeled \u201ca snitch,\u201d according to Shira Lipsey\u2019s arrest warrant affidavit.<\/p>\n
The mother said her son told her he was downstairs at the Lipsey home the night of Jan. 2, when he and others realized one of their friends was missing. They went upstairs and saw their friend sitting at the dining room table with the Lipseys and a younger couple, the affidavit states.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Mr. Lipsey (J. Lipsey SENIOR) \u2026 was passing around a plate of cocaine, and (the missing friend) did some lines, (and) passed it,\u201d the mother told police, according to the affidavit. \u201cI guess it ended up with Mrs. Lipsey \u2026 She passed it to her son, Joe \u2026 He did a couple lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman said her son told her that when he saw the incident, he \u201cfelt like throwing up\u201d and \u201cdidn\u2019t know what to do,\u201d the affidavit states.<\/p>\n
The son told her: \u201cMom, it was the weirdest thing I\u2019ve ever seen in my life. They were making it look normal, like they were passing around vitamins.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story will be updated.<\/p>\n