People celebrate birthdays in many different ways, but one form of celebration was new to me. Apparently, a woman had been out partying with her friends for her birthday and somehow the party ended up at the post office. The intoxicated birthday girl entered a restricted area and when confronted, she bit the postal worker in the arm. The employees at the post office decided to lock her in the area until police arrived. Police officers took the woman into custody, which she must not have liked because she allegedly kicked the officer in the leg twice and bit another officer on the arm. I guess she can be considered a biter and those bites landed her with multiple 2nd Degree Assault charges.
2nd Degree Assault in Larimer County
The Colorado law definition of Assault in the Second Degree – C.R.S. 18-3-203 – is:
(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.
Because there were two different biting situations, we will look at each one separately. The first time the woman chomped down on another person is when she bit the postal worker. This would match with part (b) of the definition. Yes, teeth could be considered a deadly weapon in Larimer, Boulder, and Grand County. If the DA can prove the woman intended to cause bodily injury, then she could be convicted of this crime.
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For the woman’s issue with the police officer, her actions would match part (c) of the definition. In fact, because she kicked one officer while getting into the car and then bit another officer while being treated at the hospital, she could be facing two counts of this class 4 felony. Combined with the count above, that would equal 3 charges of 2nd Degree Assault – probably not the birthday present she was expecting.
Sentence for Assault in the 2nd Degree in Loveland and Estes Park
As a class 4 felony in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes Park, this crime is also considered an extraordinary risk crime and a crime of violence. Both those qualifiers extend the punishment range. This means, if the woman is convicted of 2nd Degree Assault she could be facing 5 to 16 years in the Colorado Department of Corrections. If she is convicted on all 3 counts, she could be looking at a sentence of 48 years total if the judge runs her sentences consecutive. Second Degree Assault involving a Peace Officer has mandatory prison. A seriously scary consequence for a couple of drunken bites.