Former Colorado Sheriff Accused of Trying to Trade Drugs for Sex
Patrick Sullivan was the kind of lawman Coloradoans loved: a straight-shooting, Republican sheriff who once crashed a Jeep through a fence to rescue two deputies from a deranged gun-toting man and pleaded with legislators to keep assault weapons off the street lest any more citizens get shot.
On Tuesday afternoon, though, investigators from the same sheriff’s department he oversaw for nearly two decades found themselves monitoring a home near Denver that Mr. Sullivan was seen entering.
Soon after, the police arrested Mr. Sullivan, now 68 and long retired from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, on charges that he had been trying to exchange methamphetamines for sex with a man. He was booked that night at a local county jail that proudly bears his name.
“The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office is saddened, and this is a sad time for our community,” said Grayson Robinson, the current sheriff, who served under Mr. Sullivan. “But we have a greater purpose, to serve our community with integrity and professionalism, and that’s exactly what we’ve done with this investigation.”
Sheriff Robinson said the police began an investigation into Mr. Sullivan’s activities on Nov. 17 after several people informed the authorities that he might be involved with methamphetamines.
The investigation led the police to a home on Tuesday where they say Mr. Sullivan agreed to provide drugs to a man, a longtime associate, in exchange for sex. He was taken into custody without incident, Sheriff Robinson said.