The district attorney who represents seven counties on the Eastern Plains is under criminal investigation by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office.
The attorney general’s office began its investigation into 13th Judicial District Attorney Brittny Lewton on Aug. 15, 2019, after Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order, as first reported by Colorado Public Radio. No charges have been filed against Lewton, who serves the approximately 81,000 people living in Logan, Morgan, Yuma, Phillips, Sedgwick, Washington and Kit Carson counties.
“The conduct of elected officials is a matter of statewide importance, as is the integrity of the offices of the twenty-two elected district attorneys responsible for prosecuting crimes in our state,” Polis wrote in the document. “The Governor therefore finds that it is necessary for the Attorney General to act as the State’s prosecutor and investigate and, where the evidence permits, prosecute potential criminal activity involving the elected district attorney for the 13th Judicial District.”
The governor’s office, the attorney general’s office, Lewton’s attorney and the local prosecutor who first investigated the case all declined to comment on the nature of the allegations. CPR reported Lewton is alleged to have improperly used her position to access prescription painkillers.
When contacted about the allegations, the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council asked Routt County District Attorney Matt Karzen to aid the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Karzen said. The council asked Karzen to get involved in early July as legal advisor to the investigation because he didn’t know Lewton well and was appointed to his position in June, he said.
Based on the evidence he saw, Karzen recommended the case be further investigated, and the governor’s office appointed the attorney general to do so.
A spokesman for the attorney general confirmed his office was spearheading the investigation into Lewton but declined to comment on the nature of that investigation. A spokesman for the governor said, “We don’t comment on ongoing investigations.”
Lewton remains the district attorney in her district and is continuing to work in her full capacity, said Stan Garnett, former Boulder district attorney who is representing Lewton. He also is tasked with advising her on how to continue her job while under investigation.
“Ms. Lewton has a constitutional obligation to carry out her duties as DA and she will continue to do that,” he said.
Lewton vigorously denied that she did anything wrong, Garnett said.
Lewton did not a return a voicemail left at the district’s Sterling offices Friday afternoon. Nobody answered repeated phone calls to the Fort Morgan office, which does not have a voicemail.
Lewton joined the 13th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in 2005 after an internship there and was first elected to the top position in 2012, according to her biography on the district’s website. She previously served as the district’s lead drug prosecutor.
Staff writer Justin Wingerter contributed to this report.
