A special prosecutor formally charged Jedediah Fox-Udall with six felonies Thursday in connection with his arrest in Boulder County late last month — but the son of U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, won’t face heroin-possession charges after all.
“He wasn’t arrested in possession of drugs,” said Pam Russell, spokeswoman for the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting the case. “He was arrested in possession of drug paraphernalia.”
Fox-Udall, 26, was arrested Jan. 30 in the 4700 block of Eldorado Springs Drive after Boulder County sheriff’s deputies responded to reports he was breaking into cars in the area.
According to an arrest report, deputies confirmed Fox-Udall broke into several cars and discovered heroin “debris” on a used syringe and a spoon in his possession. Fox-Udall told deputies he had used black tar heroin around 48 hours earlier, according to the report.
Sheriff’s deputies arrested Fox-Udall and booked him into the Boulder County Jail on four felony counts of trespassing and one count of felony drug possession.
He later was released on $1,500 bond.
But despite being arrested on the heroin charge, prosecutors on Thursday did not file a drug-possession count against Fox-Udall.
Instead, he was charged with five felony trespassing counts, one felony count of burglary, a misdemeanor count of theft between $50 and $300, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
The paraphernalia charge is a petty offense that is not punishable by jail time.
The case is being prosecuted by the First Judicial District Attorney’s Office — which serves Jefferson and Gilpin counties — at the request of Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett, who has a personal relationship with the Udall family.
Alex Garlin, who is representing Fox-Udall, waived a formal reading of the charges against his client Thursday, and said Fox-Udall also chose to waive his right to a preliminary hearing in the case.
Fox-Udall next will be required to appear in court May 9 for an arraignment at the Boulder County Justice Center. He will then be expected to enter a plea to the charges he is facing.
Following Thursday’s hearing, Fox-Udall quickly left the Boulder County Jail’s courtroom without addressing the media. Garlin provided a statement on behalf of the Udall family, and spoke on behalf of the defense team.
“As always, the family stands solidly with him and on his side as he continues his treatment and they stand with him as he does everything to turn his life around,” Garlin said, adding the the Udalls request privacy for their son during this “personal matter.”
Garlin noted that the case was the result of a single day in Fox-Udall’s life before he chose to seek help for his drug addiction.
“Jed is committed to continuing his treatment for his addiction,” Garlin said.
Noting that the media previously reported that Fox-Udall also has two non-extraditable warrants out of North Carolina for breaking and entering and larceny charges, Garlin said he has information proving his client was not in North Carolina at the time of the alleged offenses.
He said that information has been provided to North Carolina authorities, andadded that he is confident those warrants will be dropped.
Contact Camera Staff Writer Joe Rubino at 303-473-1328, rubinoj@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/rubinojc.
