Rick Carroll, Aspen Daily News Journalist Profile

Articles

Judge sides with sheriff’s office in records case

3 days ago | aspendailynews.com | Rick Carroll

The records custodian for the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office properly followed state law when he rejected a media company’s request for records related to the agency’s response to the death of an elderly hiker in October, a judge ruled. In a four-page written order delivered Friday, 9th Judicial District Court Judge Denise Lynch determined that Charles Matthews, the sheriff’s office’s custodian for 14 years, rightly withheld investigatory records because they related to an “at-risk” adult.
Pelosi talks Affordable Care Act in Aspen

5 days ago | aspendailynews.com | Rick Carroll

Rep. Nancy Pelosi stuck to the script at Paepcke Auditorium on Sunday night. In Aspen for a panel discussion, Pelosi joined the stage with three others to discuss their roles in the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which became law in 2010. The conversation was titled “Behind the Vote: How the ACA Became Law.” Likely due to its irrelevancy to the discussion, there was no mention of the United States’ strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran a day earlier.
Sheriff’s office defends refusal to release records

1 week ago | aspendailynews.com | Rick Carroll

A district court judge will decide whether the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office can continue to deny a media company’s request for records related to the death of an elderly hiker in October. Las Vegas-based EWU Media LLC is challenging the sheriff’s office custodian Charles Matthews' refusal to grant the true-crime production company’s request for reports, bodycam footage and photographs associated with the county agency’s investigation into the incident.
Bookkeeper accused of stealing at least $170K from employer

1 week ago | aspendailynews.com | Rick Carroll

A four-decades-old Aspen property management company says it was the victim of a bookkeeper who embezzled more than $170,000 and possibly as much as $250,000, according to an investigation authorities launched in December. Pitkin County sheriff’s deputies opened a theft investigation on Dec. 12, 2024, after a report from the owner of the firm, which is based at the Aspen Airport Business Center.
Aspen leaders urge reduced water use amid drought

2 weeks ago | aspendailynews.com | Rick Carroll

Aspen city leaders are urging community members and businesses to moderate their everyday water use because of worsening drought conditions. On Tuesday, the Aspen City Council declared a Stage 1 water shortage with a goal to cut overall water consumption by 10% within city limits. Stage 1 restrictions, which are implemented during a moderate drought, are voluntary and lean on the public to ease up on their water use.
Young lyricists take the mic tonight at The Vault

2 weeks ago | aspendailynews.com | Rick Carroll

After spending two days in a songwriting workshop with a Nashville artist at an Old Snowmass recording studio, two young artists from the Roaring Fork Valley will treat an audience to their polished products and the ingenuity behind them tonight. The Inspire Aspen Songwriter Series takes place at 6:30 p.m. at The Vault performance space on the second-floor lobby of the Wheeler Opera House.
Aspen School District, former AD in housing dispute

2 weeks ago | aspendailynews.com | Rick Carroll

The Aspen School District is attempting to obtain an employee-housing unit through a court order that would void a 2021 sale by a former faculty member to one of his sons. The district’s litigation concerns the ownership status of a single-family home designated for public school employees. At the center of the dispute is a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home that then-ASD employee David Conarroe acquired in early 2000 after winning a housing lottery held in the fall of 1999.
Aspen man accused of sexual assault of minor

3 weeks ago | aspendailynews.com | Rick Carroll

An Aspen man faces a felony sexual assault crime based on allegations he had illegal physical contact with an underage girl in a downtown tavern while her parents were close by. Police arrested Jonathan Tello, 35, on May 23, one day after the girl and her mother and father reported the accusations to authorities, according to court records. Tello has not been formally charged. His defense lawyer in the case, former prosecutor Arnold Mordkin of Snowmass Village, declined to comment for this story.
Police investigate cache of potentially stolen property on Aspen Mountain

3 weeks ago | aspendailynews.com | Rick Carroll

What a caller to authorities believed were signs of a homeless encampment turned out to be an apparent mountain stash for thousands of dollars’ worth of likely stolen athletic clothing and gear, according to the Aspen Police Department. Police are seeking leads or any information about the more than 100 items that were concealed and covered by tarp on an unspecified location roughly 200 to 300 feet up Aspen Mountain west of the base area, according to Sgt. Rick Magnuson of APD investigations.
Alexander brothers want Aspen case paused

3 weeks ago | aspendailynews.com | Rick Carroll

Attorneys for a woman alleging she was sexually assaulted in Aspen by two celebrity real estate brokers are objecting to the brothers’ attempt to pause the lawsuit’s proceedings until the criminal charges against them are resolved. A lawsuit against brothers Alon and Oren Alexander alleges they sexually assaulted a 17-year-old female visiting Aspen for the Winter X Games in 2017. The suit was filed Dec.