Colorado law and crimes define the term Deadly Weapon as “a firearm, 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.” This definition makes some sense, but is also vague and ambiguous. As a result, DA prosecutors can charge you for a felony or misdemeanor for the same conduct!
Deadly Weapon in Weld County Courts and Crimes Can be Anything
Weld County Courts have no problem understanding Deadly Weapon terms like firearm, knife or even bludgeon, but “any other weapon, device, instrument, material, substance, whether animate or inanimate”? Who knows for sure what this means? This could include a dog, a cat, a hat or a piece of paper. Really. We have even had cases where someone’s hands are listed as the deadly weapon to meet the definition of a felony. When you say “or any other material or substance, which is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury,” you open the definition door wide open. What about a pin, which pokes someone in the eye? Yes, that can be a deadly weapon, because in the manner it is used, it is capable of producing “serious bodily injury.”
What is Serious Bodily Injury in Colorado Courts and Greeley?
Serious bodily injury means bodily injury which involves a substantial risk of death, permanent disfigurement, a substantial risk of protracted loss or impairment of the function of any part or organ of the body, or breaks, fractures, or burns of the second or third degree.” Poking someone in the eye with a straight pin makes that pin a deadly weapon (like a gun) because such damage to an eye involves a substantial risk of protracted (extended) loss or impairment of the eye. Terms like Deadly Weapon and Serious Bodily Injury matter because they are necessary for some crimes like Assault in the First Degree or Assault in the 2nd Degree.
Greeley Assault in the First Degree Involves Deadly Weapon and Serious Bodily Injury
To prove Assault in the First Degree as a felony crime, the Greeley or Weld County DA must prove that you were trying to cause Serious Bodily Injury to another, with a Deadly Weapon. So if a witness says you punched someone and while doing so, said “I will kill you for that,” the evidence may well be sufficient to convict you of 1st Degree Assault. Your hands have become the “deadly weapon” and your intent was to cause death or serious bodily injury. This flexible definition makes it easy to transform a misdemeanor into a felony.
Weld County Assault in the Second Degree: Deadly Weapon to Cause any Injury
For conviction of the Weld County Crime of Assault in the Second Degree, the intent to injure someone at all, along with the use of a deadly weapon of any kind, is all you need. An example would be punching someone in the nose. It hurt, so the DA has bodily injury. A punch is sufficient to break a nose, so that amounts to a deadly weapon. Yes, what is normally thought of as a misdemeanor assault, can also be considered 2nd Degree Assault, a felony with a possible punishment of prison. Now you see the problem with ambiguous terms being used in crime definitions. It gives the government great power to charge you as they see fit.
Crime definitions are really important. A good prosecutor will manipulate them to force you to plead guilty to a lesser charge, or face the possibility of going to prison on a more serious crime. Our lawmakers are timid and lazy, so they accept definitions of crimes which district attorneys propose. If they say “no” to DA’s, the DA’s label them as a friend to bad guys. For political security, they sacrifice doing what’s right, and you suffer.