Paper airplanes are great, especially to a kid in school. I don’t know what it is, but they love folding up homework assignments, random scraps of paper, and freshly returned tests into a streamline projectile and launching it across the room. But, did you know that a paper airplane can be considered a weapon used in an assault to cause bodily injury in Greeley and Weld County? I’m almost 100% positive that none of the high schoolers in this particular class knew that fact, but now that one of their classmates is facing criminal charges for Assault, I’m sure they know it now. According to the news report, a 17-year-old student threw a paper airplane in class and the plane hit the teacher in the eye. The student admitted to throwing the airplane, but maintains he never meant to hit the teacher in the eye. The teacher said that in the past, he and the student had other confrontations and actually pushed for criminal charges in this case. Seriously? It seems quite odd to me that a teacher would push for a student to face criminal charges because a piece of paper hit his eye. Guess I’m just glad none of my kids ever had a teacher who would push a potential permanent consequence for a childish action. Assault in the Third Degree can have lasting consequences.
Weld County 3rd Degree Assault Attorney: What is the Definition of Assault in the Third Degree?
The Colorado law definition of Assault in the Third Degree in Weld, Morgan, and Logan County – C.R.S. 18-3-204 – is:
(a) The person knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another person or with criminal negligence the person causes bodily injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon; or
(b) The person, with intent to harass, annoy, threaten, or alarm another person whom the actor knows or reasonably should know to be a peace officer, a firefighter, an emergency medical care provider, or an emergency medical service provider, causes the other person to come into contact with blood, seminal fluid, urine, feces, saliva, mucus, vomit, or toxic, caustic, or hazardous material by any means, including throwing, tossing, or expelling the fluid or material.
Because the boy threw the airplane (an act that could be considered reckless) and it caused bodily injury to the teacher (a red eye), he is facing this misdemeanor Assault charge.
Greeley Assault Attorney: What is the Sentence for Third Degree Assault?
As an extraordinary risk class 1 misdemeanor in Greeley, Fort Lupton, and Berthoud, 3rd Degree Assault is punishable by 6 to 24 months in the Weld County Jail and up to $5,000 in fines. Now, hopefully, the 17-year-old will be charged as a juvenile. In the juvenile court system, there is more allowance for mistakes and the court is more willing to offer help rather than just punishments.
If your child or someone you love has been charged with Third Degree Assault, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and contact the best criminal defense lawyers from the O’Malley Law Office at 970-616-6009 today. Together, we can protect their future.
Image Source: Pixabay-SteenJepsen