Rolex ties alleged bike thief to Aspen burglary, police say - Aspen Times

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A 31-year-old man arrested Friday in Glenwood Springs was charged Monday with breaking in to the home of a wealthy Aspen real estate developer and allegedly stealing millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry and watches.

Nicholas Henderson of Glenwood Springs is facing decades in prison after a Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office investigator tied him to an Aug. 6 burglary at the home of developer Nikos Hecht, according to prosecutor Don Nottingham and evidence presented at Henderson’s court advisement Monday.

Authorities arrested Eleanore Louise Davis, 28, last week on a charge of second-degree burglary and theft of millions of dollars’ worth of watches and other items from Hecht’s Owl Creek Road home.

On Monday, despite District Judge Chris Seldin repeatedly warning Henderson not to address the substance of the charges against him, Henderson admitted being acquainted with Davis.

“I know the co-defendant Ms. Davis,” Henderson said. “She hates me. She’d sooner kill me.”

Rolex watches, jewelry and airsoft guns were allegedly stolen from Hecht’s home while he was vacationing in the Bahamas. And it was a Rolex on Henderson’s wrist that Aspen police say tie him to the theft, according to court documents.

Henderson first came to the attention of Aspen police officers Aug. 19 after he was suspected of stealing items from the Miner’s Building on Main Street in downtown Aspen, according to a warrantless arrest affidavit filed Friday in Pitkin County District Court. He allegedly stole $60 worth of tools from the business, Nottingham said Monday.

Police say they found those stolen items on Henderson on Aug. 19 and issued him a summons for the crime. While he was still in custody, Henderson asked officers to contact a friend of his who was waiting in a car parked across the alley from the Miner’s Building, the affidavit states.

The officers drove Henderson to the area where his 2005 Chevrolet Blazer was parked. Just before officers uncuffed Henderson after issuing him a misdemeanor summons for the Miner’s Building theft, one of the officers noticed the watch he was wearing, according to the affidavit.

“(The officer) noted that Mr. Henderson had a nice watch,” the affidavit states. “It had a Rolex label. Mr. Henderson implied that it was a fake.”

The officers and Henderson then walked over to the Blazer parked nearby and noticed two bicycles in the back. An officer asked Henderson if he could take pictures of the serial numbers attached to the bikes and Henderson agreed, though he asked to be present when the photos were taken, according to the affidavit.

The first bike — a 2020 Trek Rail 9.7 electric mountain bike valued at $6,500 — turned out to have been stolen July 24 from the back of a vehicle parked in the 600 block of East Hopkins Avenue in Aspen, the affidavit states. The second bike — a Yeti SB130 — had been stolen from the Carbondale location of Basalt Bike and Ski, according to the document.

Henderson was charged with felony theft between $5,000 and $20,000 for the e-bike theft. He’s also been charged with misdemeanor theft in 2005 and 2006 and felony theft in 2007 in New Hampshire, the affidavit states. He also was wanted in Rifle for failing to appear in court on another theft charge, according to the affidavit.

But the officers let Henderson go Aug. 19 and they discovered Friday the bikes were stolen, according to the affidavit.

In the meantime, Glenwood Springs police officers arrested Henderson on Friday on a warrant related to the Yeti theft, and discovered guns and three watches belonging to Hecht in Henderson’s backpack, Nottingham said Monday. He also said that airsoft guns and handguns were found in Henderson’s Blazer after it was impounded.

“Items were found in the car that match (the Hecht) case,” Nottingham said.

Henderson asked Monday to be released on a personal recognizance bond and promised he would show up for all court hearings. He said he’s lived in Glenwood Springs most of his life, got out of the military after four years in 2011 and has worked for eight years at a local sheet metal company.

“I know I’ve created myself a little bit of a sticky situation,” he said. “I will go to work and I will go to court and I will do what I gotta do.”

Seldin, however, declined to issue a personal recognizance bond. Instead he ordered Henderson held in the Pitkin County Jail in lieu of a $100,000 bond. Davis also remained incarcerated Monday at the jail, according to the jail’s website.

jauslander@aspentimes.com

The Link Lonk


September 01, 2020 at 10:52AM
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Rolex ties alleged bike thief to Aspen burglary, police say - Aspen Times

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