A former El Paso County sheriff’s candidate filed a formal complaint Thursday alleging Undersheriff Joe Roybal violated Colorado election law by allowing a shooting range owner to offer a discount to people who signed a petition to get Roybal onto the Republican primary ballot for sheriff.

Roybal was named the winner of Tuesday’s GOP sheriff’s primary.

In his complaint filed with the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, former sheriff’s contender and unsuccessful Republican House District 21 candidate Karl Dent alleged Mel “Dragon Man” Bernstein offered a $5 discount at his shooting range to entice voters to sign Roybal’s petition.

“Mr. Roybal was present and allowed Mr. Bernstein to make this offer,” Dent wrote in his complaint he shared with The Gazette. “It is violation of law for Mr. Roybal to have allowed this offer to be made by Mr. Bernstein. Additionally, it is against the law for anyone to accept a bribe as an inducement to sign an elections petition.”

Roybal did not immediately return The Gazette’s request for comment Thursday. Calls made to phone numbers believed to be connected to Bernstein were also not immediately returned.

Roybal earned 57% of the vote in this week’s primary election to opponents Todd Watkins’ 24% and Greg Maxwell’s 18%, unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s Office show.

Maxwell said he felt the complaint should be thoroughly investigated.

“They should be held accountable,” he said. “The people that voted for someone probably voted in good conscience. But if he’s not supposed to be (on the ballot), those people should have the opportunity to vote for the people who should be on the ballot.”

Colorado law states if a vacancy caused by disqualification occurs in a major party nomination after the primary election, it can be filled by a party assembly vacancy committee appointed by the party.

Because the matter could come before the Secretary of State’s Office it could not comment specifically on the accusations against Roybal, a department spokeswoman said.

A Colorado Springs TV news station was the first to report Wednesday on a video posted to Facebook on Feb. 20 showing Bernstein at his Dragonman shooting range urging people to come to the range and sign a petition to get Roybal onto the Republican primary ballot. In return, they would receive $5 off admission to the range, Bernstein said.

Roybal can be seen standing next to Bernstein in the video.

Colorado candidates can earn their spot on a ballot in two ways: They must either earn at least 30% of the votes at the primary assembly or collect enough signatures. Roybal petitioned on.

Challenges to a candidate’s petition must come within five days after it is deemed sufficient, according to Colorado election law. The law also states any person collecting signatures cannot pay “or will not in the future pay ... directly or indirectly, any money or other thing of value to any signer for the purpose of inducing or causing the signer to sign the petition.”

People are also forbidden from offering or permitting any person to offer “any bribe or promise of gain to (a voter) to induce him or her to sign any petition or other election paper.” Additionally, the law bars people from accepting such bribes.

A district attorney or the attorney general can investigate the alleged violations and prosecute the violator if they are deemed legitimate.

The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office is “aware of the video,” spokesman Howard Black said in an emailed statement Thursday. “As we conduct a preliminary review, decisions will be made as appropriate.”

Among endorsements he won from outgoing Sheriff Bill Elder and Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, Roybal had also earned District Attorney Michael Allen’s public support.

Dent requested his complaint be referred to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office for further investigation, citing Allen’s endorsement of Roybal as a conflict of interest.

“I filed this complaint on behalf of the citizens of El Paso County and on behalf of the candidates who even though they failed to get on the ballot, they gathered their petition the right way.”

If investigators find the accusation against Roybal is a violation of state law, it is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

It was unclear whether a misdemeanor conviction would disqualify a candidate from holding the Sheriff’s Office. Colorado law states a person convicted of or who has pleaded guilty to a state or federal felony cannot hold the sheriff ’s seat.