Petre finds no police misconduct

Pete Fowler
Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado
July 15, 2007

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — A judge ruled Friday not to throw out evidence based on allegations of an illegal search in November.

That search led to marijuana-cultivation arrests related to a suspected growing operation in a Westbank Road residence.

Denying a defense motion, 9th Judicial District Judge Daniel Petre found no conduct by law enforcement tainted an affidavit resulting in a search warrant.

Steven Jundt's attorney, Kathy Goudy, had challenged the search in a motion to suppress evidence. She argued that the search was illegal because law enforcement did not initially obtain a warrant.

"They had the tools. They had the facts. They chose not to follow the U.S. Constitution and the Colorado Constitution" she said. "It was an illegal search when they entered the house at the landlord's request."

She also argued that the lease agreement did not give the landlord any authority to invite law enforcement into the residence.

Deputy District Attorney Jeff Cheney argued that when officers initially entered the residence and spoke to Julia Jundt after speaking to others in the driveway, the entry did not constitute a search. He said Julia gave officers verbal consent to search, which provides for an exception to search warrant requirements. He added that law enforcement behaved reasonably when Julia said she wanted to revoke her consent after being read her Miranda rights, including having her sign a written consent form. He said law enforcement stopped their search and obtained a warrant from a judge once Julia Jundt announced she wanted to withdraw her consent.

The suspected 73-plant basement marijuana-growing operation came to light last November. A landlord was showing prospective buyers a home and noticed a portion of the basement that had been sheet-rocked over to look as if it were not there. He removed the sheet-rock and told authorities he found growing marijuana. Authorities said the room could only be accessed through a hatch hidden in the closet of a room above. They said they found a handwritten letter to Hana Jundt, 19, with instructions on how to care for the crop and that they also found suspected psilocybin mushrooms.

Julia Jundt, 49, was arrested Nov. 30 on suspicion of possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and cultivation of marijuana.

Steven Jundt, 47, pleaded not guilty to possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cultivation of marijuana on April 12, according to the Garfield County Combined Courts office. He previously sought to have the venue of his case changed but was unsuccessful.

Hana Jundt and a man living on the second floor, Adam Pratt, 21, also face drug charges. Steven is the only one charged in the case who has entered a plea at this time. The Garfield County Sheriff's Office and the Two Rivers Drug Enforcement Team carried out the search and arrests.

Contact Pete Fowler: 945-8515, ext. 16611
pfowler@postindependent.com

Post Independent, Glenwood Springs Colorado CO

Issue date: 9/24/07

Days after the Sept. 18 incident, where CU freshman Scott Hart Pyzik, 19, was arrested on suspicion of assaulting his neighbors in a student dormitory, CU spokesperson Bronson Hilliard said it was the students who played the largest role in their own safety.

Police said Pyzik allegedly ingested hallucinogenic mushrooms as he wandered the halls of CU's Stearns East Hall. He is accused of assaulting neighbors and committing felonies witnessed by a number of his fellow student residents on the sixth floor of the student housing building.

"I was there the night it happened -- the whole building still talks about it," said freshman Stephanie Lyra, an advertising and theater major. "He punched my friend, who then came downstairs to hide out in his room with me. He was eventually caught and taken out in a stretcher, with a bag over his head."

Pyzik was arrested and faces charges of second-degree burglary, attempted sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact and drug possession.

Hilliard stresses that this case isn't about issues of dorm safety or security.

"Worries of entrance points for the buildings, reminding students to close doors to their dorms -- these are lessons we've already learned from previous incidents," Hilliard said. "It was a situation where there's a lot of people standing around in the dorms, and here comes a guy who lives on the same dorm, same floor even."

CU Police Spokesperson and Boulder Police Cmdr. Brad Wiesley agreed.

"It's hard to say you should keep someone out of the building who lives there," Wiesley said. "As far as the handling of the situation, we're thankful for the those who stepped in to help us resolve it before it could get any further than it did."

Hilliard is proud at how the situation was handled by the students themselves.

"What's good news is a group of people subdued Pyzik, and held him until police arrived," Hilliard said.

Immediately after the incident, student residential advisers acted quickly to brief the students on what happened, how to respond to future situations, and proceeded to council victims, in a response Hilliard deemed "outstanding." Counseling resources were then made available to the victims.

Wiesley advises that students still lock their doors.

"Of course it's something students do, to leave their doors open when they study, or see other students," Wiesley said. "But when you're not there, or if you're safety is threatened? Always lock doors, for a variety of reasons -- from protecting your iPod to your own personal safety."

Hilliard offered another important detail that students should remember with incidents like this.

"It's important for our students to know how much of a resource they are within this university," Hilliard said. "They are, without a doubt, our most valuable partners in achieving their own safety -- from helping us with information, to reporting strange or unusual activity. This case was executed well and serves as a great example of that knowledge."