Former Arapahoe County Sheriff Patrick Sullivan was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of trying to trade drugs to a man for sex, as investigators monitored the deal.

Drug task-force officers were “visually monitoring” the deal when the 68-year-old former national Sheriff of the Year delivered methamphetamine to an Aurora home and sought sex in return, said current Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson.

“This shows that no one is above the law, particularly a current or a former peace officer,” Robinson said.

Robinson said Sullivan had an ongoing relationship with the man as well as other men he had a history of bonding out of jails in the metro region.

Sullivan is being held on $250,000 bail in the jail that bears his name, the Patrick J. Sullivan Jr. Detention Facility. He was sheriff from 1984 until his retirement in 2002.

A call left at his family home in Littleton on Tuesday night was not returned. Sullivan’s adult daughter told TV reporters outside her parents’ home that the family was in disbelief and asked for privacy.

The former sheriff was being held in an isolation cell Tuesday night and could appear in court as early as Wednesday morning, Robinson said.

The investigation is ongoing, and more charges and arrests are expected.

Robinson said investigators received a tip earlier this month that Sullivan was involved in meth distribution, sparking the investigation that culminated in his arrest and staggering fall from grace.

Sullivan had retired from law enforcement to become director of safety and security for Cherry Creek Schools in 2002, retiring from there in 2008. He was hired in the aftermath of security concerns following the deadly Columbine rampage of 1999.

In a statement released Tuesday night, Cherry Creek School District Superintendent Mary Chesley said: “We are absolutely stunned at the news of Mr. Sullivan’s arrest and are fully cooperating the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office with their investigation.”

Sullivan had a storied law enforcement career and was named Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriffs’ Association in 2001.

In 1989, the sheriff drove a Jeep through the fence of an Arapahoe County home to rescue two deputies and a wounded 17-year-old boy who had been taken hostage by a rape and murder suspect armed with a machine gun.

He was named undersheriff in 1983 and appointed sheriff six months later, after Sheriff Ed Nelson died of a heart attack. He went on to win four elections.

Sullivan was a nationally expert on cyberterrorism and other law enforcement issues. He participated in a statewide meth task force in 2000.

Sullivan faces a charge of unlawful distribution, manufacturing, dispensing or sale of a controlled substance, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The Class 5 felony carries a penalty of up to six years in prison.

Robinson called it a “sad time” for his department.

Former Arapahoe County Commissioner Jim Dyer, who was not on the commission when Sullivan was sheriff, said he was shocked when told of the sheriff’s arrest.

“I knew he had a distinguished career,” Dyer said. “I think he was a good guy. That’s shocking. I am absolutely astounded.”

Steve Ward, a former county commissioner who worked with Sullivan, said he “couldn’t be more shocked.”

“I’m sad for him,” he said. “As a law enforcement officer, he was second to none.”

Former Arapahoe County District Attorney Jim Peters, who worked with Sullivan, said the allegations against the former sheriff are “totally out of character” for the man he knew and are “hard to believe.”

“He was completely ethical, upright and honest,” Peters said. “He just oozed honesty and integrity. He was an outstanding sheriff.”

Staff writer Carlos Illescas contributed to this report.

Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com