GLENWOOD SPRINGS — Prosecutors released to defense attorneys on Tuesday the name of the confidential informant who lies at the center of more than 30 drug cases that drug officers say are connected to a drug ring known as The Boys.
Prosecutors didn’t make the name public, but they did release it to public defender Garth McCarty in the case of Larkin Marvin Harris, a Rifle man accused of selling marijuana to an undercover investigator through the informant in January.
Deputy District Attorney Amy Fitch said the name was being released on a “case-by-case basis,” but by releasing it to McCarty, prosecutors were effectively making it known in the bulk of the cases because most of the suspects are being represented by the public defender’s office.
Identified in court documents only as CI-07-110, the informant played a central role in nearly all the cases the Two Rivers Drug Enforcement Task Force have linked to The Boys.
Investigators said he assisted TRIDENT in more than 40 drug deals in exchange for favorable prosecution and payment. The Aspen Daily News has learned the informant’s identity but it won’t release it at the request of prosecutors who say identifying him could put him in danger.
Fitch said while most suspects probably knew the informant’s identity, some may not.
“He is an ear- and eyewitness that is essential to this case,” Fitch said, explaining her decision to identify him to defense attorneys.
McCarty had filed a motion asking for his identity to be revealed, both because he is a key witness to the alleged crime and to be able to research his background and his possible motivations for working with law enforcement.
McCarty is arguing that Harris, who has turned down a plea offer from prosecutors but is still reserving the right to negotiate, was a victim of entrapment.
“Entrapment cases are really rare,” McCarty said, but he noted they may be more likely if an informant with an interest in securing cases pleas for drugs, essentially making a dealer out of someone who otherwise was simply in possession.
Harris has pleaded not guilty. A three-day trial is set to start Aug. 28.
Appearing in a black-and-white-striped jail uniform and dreadlocks, Harris was in court for a brief hearing on Tuesday.
Prosecutors accuse him of selling nearly 29 grams of marijuana from his Rifle home. Court documents suggest a connection with another man, Michael Nastiuk, of Silt, who is accused of possessing large quantities of marijuana. The affidavits don’t describe what connection he has to the other drug suspects aside from being linked through the confidential informant.
“Based on the police reports that I have read, I know of no connections to those other people. None,” McCarty said.
TRIDENT officers have linked 38 cases to The Boys drug ring following what they called “a lengthy drug investigation into one of the largest drug organizations in the history of Colorado’s Western Slope.” At least six remain at large.
dfrey@aspendailynews.com