Aspen police arrested a transient Tuesday night on suspicion of entering someone’s apartment where someone allegedly saw him watching pornography on a computer.

Edward Joseph Duggan III, 45, was advised Wednesday in the chambers of District Judge James Boyd that he faces a felony charge of first-degree criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

The disorderly conduct offense stems from Duggan’s alleged behavior at the Justice Snow bar and restaurant in downtown Aspen. Police say they received a complaint that he was swearing and yelling inside the establishment. But when they arrived he was not there.

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About 25 minutes after the Justice Snow call, police fielded a complaint from the resident of an East Hyman Avenue apartment who said he “came home to find Duggan sitting in front his laptop computer with all the lights turned off … watching pornography on the computer,” according to an affidavit written by Aspen police officer Chance Williams.

The tenant then was able to lure Duggan onto the Hyman Avenue pedestrian mall where police were waiting. Police also realized that Duggan matched the description of the person who had engaged in the surly behavior at Justice Snow and then arrested him, finding a bag of marijuana from a local pot dispensary in his coat pocket, Williams wrote.

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While police also arrested Duggan on suspicion of marijuana possession, prosecutor Arnold Mordkin did not indicate he will charge him for that offense.

Mordkin noted that Duggan has a history of trespassing and disorderly conduct offenses that date back to 1996.

At Wednesday’s advisement hearing, Duggan admitted he has run afoul of the law in the past, but insisted he did not enter the apartment or watch the pornography. Duggan faces no criminal charges for his alleged porn-viewing.

“I didn’t go to anybody’s house or go on anybody’s computer,” he said. “That’s bulls–t.”

Boyd warned Duggan several times to tone down his language. “You’re only going to hurt yourself if you use profanity,” the judge said.

Yet Duggan apparently had difficulty containing himself, saying he “acted like an a–hole” at Justice Snow, but did not trespass at the apartment.

“Pardon my French,” he told the judge.

Replied Boyd: “Your French is going to get you in trouble.”

Boyd set Duggan’s bond at $2,500. Duggan said he could not afford to get out of jail and wanted to move the case along as quickly as possible.

“I’m totally willing to take my licks for what I did but I totally did not go into somebody’s house,” he said, later adding that if his case can be wrapped up by his next court date – March 5 – “I will get out of the entire valley. I won’t even stay in Glenwood.”

Boyd told Duggan that rarely do criminal cases proceed so swiftly.

If convicted of the trespassing charge, Duggan faces one to three years in state prison.

Duggan also asked Boyd if he would tell the two newspaper reporters at the hearing not to go into detail about the case. Boyd said that because the allegations are public record he could not control how the media covers the case.

rcarroll@aspentimes.com