CENTENNIAL, Colo. — An ex-Colorado sheriff known for his no-nonsense style and a concern about teenage drug use is facing charges of offering methamphetamine in exchange for sex and was being held Wednesday at a jail named for him.
Dressed in an orange jail uniform and walking with a cane, a hand-cuffed Patrick Sullivan, 68, watched as a judge raised his bail amount to a half-million dollars and sent him back to the Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility.
Arapahoe County chief judge William Sylvester also told him not to contact anyone involved in the case.
Sullivan’s arrest has many in the wealthy suburban Denver county where he held sway for nearly two decades wondering what happened to the lawman who was once named the nation’s sheriff of the year.
“This isn’t the Pat I know,” said Peg Ackerman, a lobbyist for the County Sheriffs of Colorado who often worked with him on legislation. She said he was concerned about drug use in schools and was a chief of security at a school district.
The current sheriff, Grayson Robinson, who worked as undersheriff for Sullivan from 1997 until he took over the job in 2002, said the department was shocked and saddened.
Robinson said the case is still under investigation, including where and how Sullivan might have gotten the drugs. He declined to say if authorities suspect Sullivan of using drugs, or if others might be charged.
Sullivan’s attorney, Kevin McGreevy, did not return calls seeking comment.
Sullivan came to the attention of law enforcement after an Oct. 4 call to authorities from a home in Centennial, according to an arrest affidavit. The deputy who responded had worked for Sullivan and knew who he was.
After investigating further, the deputy learned from two confidential informants that Sullivan was dealing meth but would sell it only if they had sex with him, the document stated. He was arrested after police set up a sting at a home.
Deputies found that Sullivan had handed someone a bag of meth and had another bag on him when he was searched, according to the affidavit. Both bags weighed less than a gram.
Sullivan served as sheriff from 1984 until his retirement in 2002. In 2002, U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo praised him on his retirement, citing Sullivan for among other things being named Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriff’s Association.
While those who know Sullivan were puzzled by the news, some said they weren’t surprised that a person of his stature could get involved. They said meth users will do almost anything to feed their habit and often hurt others in the process.
“This drug knows no economic, social, professional or occupational boundaries,” said state Rep. Ken Summers, who served on a legislative meth task force.
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