The former Bergmann Hotel manager has signaled his intention to plead guilty to federal drug charges, likely avoiding a U.S. District Court trial that was scheduled to start April 9.
Charles Edward Cotten Jr. was indicted in October on four counts of distributing methamphetamine in Juneau. The indictment alleges that Cotten distributed at least 20 grams in May and June of 2017.
Cotten was the manager of the Bergmann Hotel in the fall of 2016 prior to the city condemning it in March 2017.
He also was the husband of Penny Cotten, whose death by gunshot last September at the Breakwater Inn is under investigation by Juneau police.
Federal prosecutors filed a motion late March indicating they would no longer seek stiffer penalties for the drug charges against Charles Cotten.
Cotten’s attorney Michael Moberly requested a new hearing for a change of plea and pulling the trial from the court calendar.
If convicted, Cotten, 52, could serve five- to 40-years in prison, ordered to pay a fine up to $5 million, and spend four years to life on supervised release. He also will forfeit a 34-foot cabin cruiser and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Cotten’s co-defendant on one of the drug charges, Ricky Stapler Lisk, 36, pleaded guilty in February and will be sentenced in October.
