Cocaine suspect held on $20,000 bond in Aspen

Posted: 02/15/2011 09:16:05 PM MSTUpdated: 02/15/2011 09:16:11 PM MST



A 50-year-old allegedly undocumented worker at a downtown Aspen bar and grill is being held in the Pitkin County jail on suspicion of dealing cocaine in the wealthy resort community.

Pitkin County District Judge Gail Nichols set bond at $20,000 for Raul Perez Cortes, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on him if he is released, The Aspen Times reported this afternoon.

A kitchen worker at Bentley's at the Wheeler on South Mill Street, Cortes is accused of having more than 2 ounces of cocaine and about $2,500 in cash at the restaurant Saturday morning.

A subsequent search of Cortes' home turned up additional 1.3 ounces of cocaine and another $1,400 in cash, according to Aspen police.

Pitkin County prosecutor Arnold Mordkin said in court that an arrest warrant is pending against a second restaurant employee, The Aspen Times reported.

The employee has not been named, but Aspen police said today they found an additional 38 grams of cocaine that police confiscated, along with approximately $1,400 in cash at the person's home.

Another Bentley's kitchen worker, Vicente Vasquez Gomez, 27, was charged Saturday with giving police a false name.

The search and arrests at the restaurant Saturday after Basalt police received a video showing "individuals packaging a white powdery substance on food preparation surfaces in the kitchen at Bentley's," according to a press release from Aspen police.

The judge granted prosecutor's request to keep the search warrant for the restaurant sealed, citing an ongoing investigation.

Officer spent about three hours at the restaurant starting at about 10:45 a.m. Saturday, according to the Times.

"We will take this opportunity to reach out to other licensed establishments, with the aim of preventing similar situations from developing in the future," Aspen Police Chief Richard Pryor said in a statement.

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