With Fourth of July right around the corner, backyard barbecues will be occurring in neighborhoods across the country. These gatherings are a time for fun, family, food, friends and FIGHTING? Well, hopefully during most of those barbecues fighting isn’t a factor. But, during one barbecue, fighting was the biggest part. According to the news story, two women began arguing over the last rib. The fight took a turn for the worse when one woman allegedly pulled out a knife. In what the other woman described as self-defense, she grabbed a fork and stabbed the woman holding the knife in the eye. She claimed she used the fork to protect herself from being stabbed with a knife. The woman who was stabbed with the fork was taken to the hospital, while the other woman was arrested on Assault charges.
2nd Degree Assault in Weld County
Assault in the Second Degree – C.R.S. 18-3-203 – is defined by Colorado law as:
(b) With intent to cause bodily injury to another person, he or she causes such injury to any person by means of a deadly weapon; or
(c) With intent to prevent one whom he or she knows, or should know, to be a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical service provider from performing a lawful duty, he or she intentionally causes bodily injury to any person; or
(d) He recklessly causes serious bodily injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon; or
(e) For a purpose other than lawful medical or therapeutic treatment, he intentionally causes stupor, unconsciousness, or other physical or mental impairment or injury to another person by administering to him, without his consent, a drug, substance, or preparation capable of producing the intended harm.
(g) With intent to cause bodily injury to another person, he causes serious bodily injury to that person or another.
In breaking down the situation above, the woman allegedly did the following things:
- Acted with intent to cause injury; and
- Caused bodily injury to the other woman; and
- Used a weapon which could be considered deadly under certain circumstances.
These elements correspond with part (b) of the Second Degree Assault statute as long as the fork is considered a deadly weapon. According to law, ‘deadly weapon’ means:
(II) A knife, bludgeon, or any other weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, whether animate or inanimate, that, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury.
Basically, any object that is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury is considered a deadly weapon in Greeley, Windsor, and Evans. While it might be hard to imagine, a Weld, Morgan, or Logan County District Attorney could argue that a fork could cause a serious injury, which could classify it as a deadly weapon. Luckily, the fork only caused minor lacerations. If the woman had used the fork to puncture the other woman’s eye, this would have been considered a serious bodily injury and would have resulted in 1st Degree Assault charges.
Have you been charged with Assault? Contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office to defend you today!
Have you been charged with Assault? Contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office to defend you today!
An experienced lawyer would explore the affirmative argument of self-defense in this situation. Under C.R.S. 18-1-704, the use of physical force in defense of a person is justified in some situations:
Because the woman said she was worried she was going to be injured with a knife, this could be an applicable defense in this case.
If you or someone you love has been charged with Assault, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense attorneys from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-616-6009 to set-up a free consultation. Together, we can protect your future.
Image Credit: Pixabay – Silberfuchs