{"id":2453433,"date":"2020-01-19T23:18:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T06:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=319396"},"modified":"2020-01-19T23:18:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T06:18:00","slug":"supporters-of-derek-johnson-ask-for-leniency-point-to-his-dedication-to-community-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/supporters-of-derek-johnson-ask-for-leniency-point-to-his-dedication-to-community-family\/","title":{"rendered":"Supporters of Derek Johnson ask for leniency, point to his dedication to community, family"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Derek Johnson<\/strong>
<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

While Derek Johnson was condemned by most Skico-affiliated letter-writers to the District Court, many others in the community wrote to laud him for his friendship, dedication to family and community-minded spirit over more than two decades in Aspen.<\/p>\n

The 29 letters urging District Judge Chris Seldin to be lenient on Johnson \u2014 with many asking the judge to spare him a prison sentence \u2014 came from family members, neighbors, parents of kids he coached in football, current and former area elected officials and former business associates.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a partner, I put my trust in Derek, confided in him,\u201d said Eric Bergstrom, the \u201cE\u201d in the \u201cD&E Snowboard Shop\u201d that the two founded in Aspen in the early 1990s and later sold to Aspen Skiing Co. \u201cNever did I have any reason to doubt his trustworthiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bergstrom called Johnson a dedicated family man with a passion for Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t understand why Derek made the choices he did that placed him in your court,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI ask for your leniency when sentencing Derek so that he may return to providing for his family and re-engage in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson, 52, pleaded guilty to felony theft<\/a> between $100,000 and $1 million in November for stealing nearly $6 million in company property, and is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday afternoon, when he faces between four years and 12 years in prison under terms of a plea deal.<\/p>\n

Former Pitkin County Commissioner and Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland, who served with Johnson on the Aspen City Council from 2009 to 2013, praised his former colleague\u2019s community-mindedness and parenting. He also said he read Johnson\u2019s \u201cstatement of offense\u201d to the court and spoke with him about his transgressions, making him confident Johnson \u201cowns both his behavior and its consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my view, Derek Johnson can be punished as fits the crime by a jail term and restitution schedule rather than a lengthy prison sentence likely to leave him isolated and unemployable on his release,\u201d Ireland wrote. \u201cHis ability to make amends, financially and spiritually, will be enhanced by viewing him as a flawed human capable of redemption rather than a bad actor to be cast out into the darkness with little connection to family and community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Longtime Pitkin County Commissioner Patti Clapper also wrote that she admired Johnson\u2019s dedication to the Aspen community, and said she, like many other letter-writers, got to know Johnson after he coached her son in football.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was perhaps Derek\u2019s greatest football player\u2019s mother challenge,\u201d Clapper wrote. \u201cWhen Derek and Kerri got married I was the one who encouraged them to have kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clapper urged Seldin to impose a local jail sentence and community service instead of prison.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a firm believer in the importance of taking responsibility for one\u2019s actions,\u201d she said. \u201cI also believe that each and every situation is unique and should be treated as such.\u201d<\/p>\n

Snowmass Village Town Councilman Tom Goode, who he recruited as an assistant coach on the Aspen High School football team, said he admired Johnson\u2019s dedication to coaching and mentoring athletes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community is in a bit of shock over this, of course, and he has certainly made a big mistake,\u201d Goode said. \u201cI know he is aware of this and is looking forward to making this right.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a wonderful family and it would be righteous to afford him the opportunity to face the community and show his remorsefulness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The executive director of Aspen Junior Hockey, where Johnson served on the board of directors, said Johnson\u2019s impact on the organization and local youth in general \u201chas been tremendous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe wholeheartedly that Derek is extremely remorseful,\u201d Shaun Hathaway said. \u201cI am hopeful that you will consider his role as a father and leader of our youth in this community and allow him to continue raising his children and helping volunteer his time with our youth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just one of the 29 letters urging leniency is from a person who worked for Johnson at Skico.<\/p>\n

Aaron Kane wrote that he worked under Johnson in a variety of roles at Skico rental stores from 2006 to 2014, and effusively praised him as a boss, a manager and a human being.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt that I personally and professionally grew more in my period working for Four Mountain Sports than in any other period of my life, and this would not have been possible without the help of Derek Johnson,\u201d Kane said. \u201cI understand what Derek did was wrong and unlike anything I had known him to do, but I also understand that good people can make bad decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom my time knowing Derek Johnson, I can honestly say that I believe that he is one of the good people, a compassionate person that truly does care about all the people that he interacts with.\u201d<\/p>\n

jauslander@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Derek Johnson While Derek Johnson was condemned by most Skico-affiliated letter-writers to the District Court, many others in the community wrote to laud him for his friendship, dedication to family and community-minded spirit over more than two decades in Aspen. The 29 letters urging District Judge Chris Seldin to be lenient on Johnson \u2014 with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2453433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-18 20:07:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2453433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2453433\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2453433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2453433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2453433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}