Co-owner of Ritz Bachelor Gulch facing four felonies
Randy Wyrick|randy@vaildaily.com |
EAGLE — A Mexican textile manufacturer and the co-owner of the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch is charged with four felonies after a party in his Bachelor Gulch home attracted dozens of revelers, many underage.
Salomon Juan Marcos Villareal is charged with four counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, all Class 4 felonies. He faces up to six years on each count, since each count alleges a different victim, said Bruce Brown, district attorney.
What police say happened
A New Year’s Eve party at Marcos Villareal’s Bachelor Gulch home attracted around 50 people and many of those people were underage, according to an arrest affidavit from the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office.
A basement room under Marcos Villareal’s home, estimated to be the size of some basketball courts, is where much of the party happened, the affidavit said.
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When the guests entered the room, they found an open bar and no one was checking IDs, the affidavit said.
According to the affidavit, Marcos Villareal was aiding people younger than 21 years old in consuming alcohol, especially Patron tequila and Cristal champagne.
Laws help protect children
“Providing alcohol to minors leads to kids getting drunk because they frequently don’t know when to stop tipping the bottle back,” Brown said in a statement. “The bad decision-making that can follow makes them vulnerable to injury and abuse. Younger community members are not in a good position to exercise restraint when it comes to the amount of alcohol and these laws protect our kids. We, as adults, have an obligation to protect kids, whether or not they are our own.”
Marcos Villareal is defended by Pamela Mackey, the Denver defense attorney who defended Kobe Bryant when he was charged with sexual assault in Eagle County 12 years ago. Mackey declined comment beyond confirming the charges against her client.
Marcos Villareal turned himself in and is free on $50,000 bond, according to court documents.
Grupo Denim
Marcos Villarreal, 43, is president of Grupo Denim, a textile manufacturer with operations in the Mexico, Nicaragua and the United States. The company was started in the 1950s by his grandfather Antonio Juan Marcos. The company makes clothing for Wrangler, Lee and Tommy Hilfiger.
His family is from Coahuila, Mexico.
Marcos Villarreal’s GD Holdings LLC acquired 50 percent ownership of the Ritz-Carlton in 2009 from Miami-based Gencom Group.
Along with textile manufacturing, Marcos Villareal’s GD Holdings is also a real estate investment company whose assets include Denver’s Four Seasons Hotel and Personal Residences, as well as other hotels and commercial properties.
Grupo Denim also owns an international charter airline business.
Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 and rwyrick@vaildaily.com.
