There are always things about your significant other that bother you. You know those little pet peeves that really get under your skin, like your husband leaves his dirty laundry on the floor instead of putting it in the hamper, or your girlfriend chews with her mouth open. They drive you crazy, but because you love the person, you learn to let it go. Or, at least most people do. One woman couldn’t let her pet peeve go and her boyfriend seriously paid the price. He woke up to his girlfriend repeatedly hitting him in the back with a crowbar. Apparently, she couldn’t take his snoring anymore. The man was able to get away and went to a nearby convenience store, where he saw a police officer and reported his injuries. The girlfriend was arrested and charged with Second Degree Assault – Domestic Violence.
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 this case, the crowbar would be considered a deadly weapon. In Weld, Morgan, and Logan County, any object that can cause serious bodily injury or death is deemed to be a deadly weapon. Because the woman caused bodily injury to her boyfriend with this deadly weapon, she was charged with Second Degree Assault.
Have you been charged with Second Degree Assault? Contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office to defend you today!
Have you been charged with Second Degree Assault? Contact the experienced criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office to defend you today!
Is There a Defense for Second Degree Assault?
Under the 2nd Degree Assault statute, there is a provision of the law, which provides a lesser penalty for an Assault that occurred in a sudden heat of passion:
While it does not entirely excuse the criminal episode, it lowers the penalty from a class 4 felony to a class 6 in Greeley, Windsor, and Evans. Now, in the case above, the woman would probably not be able to use the sudden heat of passion defense. She may have felt that her boyfriend’s snoring was a serious and highly provoking act, but a Court would probably not see it that way. He was just sleeping and not purposely doing anything to provoke a response from his girlfriend.
If you or someone you love has been charged with Second Degree 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.
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