Police and security personnel led by the state’s Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) arrested Boulder resident Jarrod Veilleux on drug sales charges last Wednesday in what may have been the largest police operation in downtown Boulder this century.
Shortly after 9 a.m., Sheriff Tom Grimsrud readied his assault rifle outside the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office before shouting instructions to deputies. A sheriff’s truck roared off as the sheriff and another officer walked toward the County Courthouse.
Within minutes, four police roadblocks had been set up at nearby intersections and a phalanx of officers and vehicles had taken positions outside a home at 107 North Monroe Street, in the shadow of the historic courthouse. On a bullhorn, an official announced multiple times that they had a search warrant and urged all those inside to come out with their hands up.
The Monitor counted more than 30 police and security personnel and at least a dozen vehicles: official pick-ups and SUVs, unmarked vehicles and even an armored Bearcat with a top hatch, out of which a camouflaged officer popped, along Centennial Street, and aimed a rifle at the house. The JCSO issued a public safety alert to all area mobile phones, urging residents to stay indoors, Jefferson High School went on lockdown, and two drones buzzed overhead and occasionally zipped close to the house.
Five agencies were involved: JCSO, Butte-Silver Bow SWAT, the Southwest Montana Drug Task Force, Montana Highway Patrol and DCI. Grimsrud later told The Monitor that this was the largest police operation he could recall in Boulder over his 26 years of service. It seemed like the level of force authorities might use to take down a drug lord.
“When it’s time to serve a search warrant, we want to do that in the safest manner possible,” DCI Chief Steve Crawford told The Monitor. “Based on the risk factors present, it was determined to use the whole team.”
After a half-hour standoff at Monroe Street, a handcuffed woman emerged with an officer and climbed into a JCSO vehicle. No charges were filed against her and she was soon released.
Just before the Monroe Street operation, officers had arrested Veilleux following a traffic stop at East Hauser and Capital Heights. According to the Butte-Silver Bow-issued arrest warrant, he is charged with criminal distribution of methamphetamine and fentanyl and being held on a $1 million bond.
Boulder resident Kaydence Ludden, who is Veilleux’s stepdaughter, told the Monitor that authorities’ search of the Monroe Street house netted a scale, some coin pouches, and marijuana. The DCI would not comment on an ongoing investigation, but Crawford considered the operation a success.
“It was a very good example of inter-agency cooperation with the ultimate goal being the safety of the public and the officers involved,” he said.
Ludden reached out to The Monitor to clarify that her stepfather had not been charged with any internet crimes against children, as suggested by a KTVH report. DCI confirmed that it is investigating internet crimes linked to the Veilleux case, but that no charges had been filed.
Ludden, a 19-year-old who works at Boulder’s Town Pump, said she moved out of Veilleux’s home last year after graduating from Jefferson High. Her mother and 16-year-old brother had continued to live there. Ludden knew her stepfather had previously been in prison for several years, but was not sure of the crime.
A January 2013 article in a Spokane, Washington, newspaper reported that a jury had found Veilleux not guilty of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault, but guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The report estimated a 7-8 year prison sentence.
Veilleux had previously been convicted in 2003 for a series of home burglaries in the Bozeman area, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. The judge in that case offered to reduce the 20-year-old Veilleux’s 20-year sentence by 12 years if he completed a state-run boot camp.
Since her stepfather’s release from prison in 2019, Ludden said she had seen no signs of troubling behavior or criminal activity. “As soon as he got out of jail, he sobered up and he’s been taking care of us and being good for six years,” she said.
Veilleux owns the Boulder-based contracting firm Chase One Construction, according to Ludden. The company’s Facebook page shows several completed local jobs, most recently from 2021, with photos taken by Ludden.
“He’s a good man, very kind and caring, and beyond a hard worker,” she said.
