True, the probationary sentence is sizable -- four years -- and Ottaway, who made our 2010 list of bad hair mug shots, must be home by 7 p.m. But given that he allegedly targeted the employee after being told he couldn't use the valet's business phone. and also threatened to disrupt hotel business with help from his helicopter, suggests that Ottaway's attorney definitely earned his wage.
Look below to see the Denver District Attorney's Office take on the sentencing, followed by our original coverage, which includes Ottaway's arrest affidavit.
Denver District Attorney's Office release:
MAN SENTENCED IN HOTEL VALET CASEA man accused of trying to run over and kill a hotel valet last summer was sentenced to probation this morning.
Tracy Lee Ottaway (dob: 07-21-63) pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of menacing with a deadly weapon (F5). He was sentenced to four years of probation to be supervised by the mental health unit. Under the conditions of his probation he is prohibited from returning to the Cherry Creek area and has a 7 p.m. curfew.
In late July 2010, an altercation occurred between Ottaway and the victim, who was working as a valet at a Cherry Creek hotel. On August 7, 2010, the victim was at work when Ottaway allegedly drove directly at him in a black Cadillac Escalade at a high rate of speed. The victim was able to avoid being hit and was unharmed.
Original post, 7:37 a.m. September 17, 2010: If information provided to the Denver Police Department is accurate, Tracy Lee Ottaway qualifies as the customer from hell.
Ottaway's been charged with attempted first-degree murder over an incident at Cherry Creek JW Marriott in which he allegedly tried to use an SUV to run over a valet who two weeks earlier had refused to let him use the valet phone.
The Tracy Lee Ottaway arrest affidavit has the details. According to the document, Ottaway was at the Marriott in late July when the unnamed valet noticed him using the valet's business phone and told him to stop. This statement apparently incensed Ottaway, who's said to have told another employee that he would "fly his helicopter in front of the hotel and disrupt their business," the affidavit says.
This helicopter-blade-rattling threat didn't end the acrimony. Later that week, the valet reportedly was walking back to the hotel after a break when he noticed a vehicle whose driver was revving his engine. Yep, the affidavit states, the man behind the wheel was Ottaway, who told the valet that something would happen to this "fuckin' Arab" if he saw him again.
He did, on the afternoon of August 7. The valet was on the job, approaching the driver's side door of a customer, when he allegedly "heard the revving of a vehicle's engine and saw a black Cadillac Escalade driving at a high rate of speed directly at him," the affidavit says.At that moment, the document continues, the valet made eye contact with Ottaway, the man piloting the Escalade, then pressed himself against the door of the other vehicle to avoid being hit. He succeeded for the most part, although he was reportedly "brushed" by the Escalade's side mirror as it blew by him.
Oh yeah: There's also reportedly a video of the incident. Good luck with that, Mr. Ottaway.
Page down to see a full-sized photo of Ottaway and the complete affidavit:
More from our Mug Shots archive: "The 120 most memorable mug shots of 2010."