SandBoxBlogs: Aspen Daily News "Second teenager in alleged kidnapping plot is arrested"

Chad Abraham:
"A 17-year-old Basalt resident was arrested Wednesday for his alleged role in a plot to kidnap, tie up and leave for dead another Basalt teenager.

The 17-year-old, described by Basalt police as the main accomplice to the 15-year-old boy who allegedly admitted last week to planning the attack, was arrested on felony charges of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree kidnapping.

Mark Hurlbert, head prosecutor in the 5th Judicial District, said Wednesday that no decision had been made yet as to what charges will be formally filed against the youths. Only the 17-year-old could potentially be charged as an adult, another decision that is pending, Hurlbert said. His office is handling the case because the alleged plot occurred in the Eagle County portion of the midvalley.

The 15-year-old, a Basalt High sophomore who was taken into custody Friday for an unrelated probation issue, and others planned to lure the potential victim to Arbaney Park. The main suspect said he had a beef with the other youth related to drug dealing and a girl, Basalt police Sgt. Stu Curry said last week.

At the park, they allegedly intended to beat the teen with baseball bats until he was incapacitated, tie him up with duct tape and drive up to Ruedi Reservoir.

There, according to the alleged confession, they would “take him out into the woods and let him starve to death,” says a police press release. “The juvenile suspect admitted he wanted the victim to suffer [and] admitted to planning this for the last four weeks.”

“I’ve never seen this level of planning for any crime, whether it’s an adult or a juvenile,” Curry said Friday. “This is very unique to our valley.”

Early last week, parents of some of those allegedly involved found a diagram of the assault plan drawn by the 15-year-old. They contacted police, thinking it involved a drug deal....."  (Read more? Click title)

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SandBox Comments: Aspen Times "Attempted second-degree murder charge filed Friday"

(See related story here)

"...The day after his Dec. 15 arrest, Jamie Lee Patton, 24, was advised by a judge that the prosecution had planned to charge him with attempted first-degree murder, among other offenses. But on Friday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Arnold Mordkin decided to ratchet down the charge to attempted second-degree murder. A first-degree charge would have indicated that authorities believed Patton's crime was premeditated; second-degree implies that Patton had not planned the attempted killing.

“I had the opportunity to look at it with greater analysis,” Mordkin said, when asked why he did not pursue a first-degree charge...."
(Rick Carroll)

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