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Former Colorado ski company executive gets 6 years for theft

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ASPEN (AP) — A judge has sentenced a former Colorado ski company executive to six years in prison for stealing equipment and merchandise from the company and reselling the gear online for more than a decade.

Former Aspen Skiing Company executive Derek Johnson was sentenced Tuesday with credit for one day of time served after pleading guilty to felony theft in November, The Aspen Times reports.

The 52-year-old stole skis, snowboards and other gear between 2010 and 2018, prosecutors said.

Johnson co-founded D&E Ski and Snowboard Shops in 1993 before selling the company in 2001 to Aspen Skiing Co., where he remained as the managing director of retail and rental equipment.

His wife Kerri Johnson, 48, oversaw the sale and shipping of the stolen equipment through eBay, authorities said.

Kerri Johnson pleaded guilty to felony theft in December and is expected to serve an unspecified probation sentence and possible time in Pitkin County Jail, prosecutors said.

She is scheduled to be sentenced next month, prosecutors said.

The couple, who have three children, were also ordered to pay back $250,000 as part of the plea deal, prosecutors said.

Johnson previously served on Aspen City Council from 2009 to 2013 and unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2013.