A 32-year-old man who flooded the Pitkin County Jail this summer then fought with sheriff’s deputies pleaded guilty Monday to two felonies in connection with the incident.
Benjamin Garrett faces up to 7 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony drug possession and criminal mischief. Garrett also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, which could land him in the same jail he flooded for between 6 months and 2 years. The District Attorney’s Office also agreed not to object to a probation-only sentence in the case, said Molly Owens, Garrettap attorney.
Garrett has no prior felony convictions and the sheriff’s deputy he assaulted did not push for a prison sentence, said Deputy District Attorney Sarah Oszczakiewicz. Garrett might have to pay more than $225,000 in restitution, the cost of the damage to the jail.
Garrett was initially arrested in August for methamphetamine possession and taken to jail. In the middle of the night, he pried a light housing from the roof of his cell and used it to destroy a sprinkler head, which flooded the jail and destroyed communication and other computer equipment located in the jail’s basement.
Garrett then tried to choke a sheriff’s deputy who finally entered his cell to try to deal with him and the gushing water. It took four deputies to get him under control and strapped into a holding chair.
Read the full story on .
