Attorney
Reviewed by Ryan Markus, Fort Collins criminal defense attorney and former Colorado State Public Defender.
Colorado law splits assault into three degrees. Third degree is a class 1 misdemeanor. Second degree is generally a class 4 felony, and first degree is generally a class 3 felony. Related charges include vehicular assault, menacing, and reckless endangerment.
A charge like this can feel out of proportion to what happened. It helps to know that Colorado separates these offenses by the mental state, the injury, the weapon, and who the other person is. The same event can be charged at different levels depending on those facts.
Most assault charges turn on bodily injury or serious bodily injury. Bodily injury means physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical or mental condition, and no visible wound is required (C.R.S. 18-1-901(3)(c)). Serious bodily injury is bodily injury that involves a substantial risk of death, a substantial risk of serious permanent disfigurement, or a substantial risk of long-term loss or impairment of any part or organ of the body. It also includes breaks, fractures, a penetrating knife or gunshot wound, and second- or third-degree burns (C.R.S. 18-1-901(3)(p)). If you are not sure which charge you face, the paperwork from the court will name the statute.
The first forty-eight hours of an assault investigation can be the most important. Interviewing witnesses while they remember, collecting surveillance while it exists and analyzing medical issues while they are visible can be the difference between a conviction and an acquittal.
Comparing the charges
The table below compares each charge on this page by its classification and links to its full guide.
| Charge | C.R.S. | Classification (statute text) | Penalty range | Full article |
| First-degree assault | 18-3-202 | Class 3 felony; class 5 felony if sudden heat of passion | Class 5 felony: 1 to 3 years in prison; Class 3 felony: 4 to 12 years in prison | Article coming soon |
| Second-degree assault | 18-3-203 | Class 4 felony; class 6 if heat of passion; class 3 if a non-participant suffers serious bodily injury during listed crimes, attempts, or flight | Class 4 felony: 2 to 6 years in prison | Read the article |
| Third-degree assault | 18-3-204 | Class 1 misdemeanor | Class 1 misdemeanor: up to 364 days in jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both | Article coming soon |
| Vehicular assault | 18-3-205 | Class 5 felony (reckless driving, or driving while ability impaired); class 4 felony (driving under the influence) | Class 5 felony: 1 to 3 years in prison; Class 4 felony: 2 to 6 years in prison | Article coming soon |
| Menacing | 18-3-206 | Class 1 misdemeanor; class 5 felony if a firearm, knife, bludgeon, or a simulated one is used | Class 1 misdemeanor: up to 364 days in jail, a fine up to $1,000, or both; Class 5 felony: 1 to 3 years in prison | Read the article |
| Reckless endangerment | 18-3-208 | Class 2 misdemeanor | Class 2 misdemeanor: up to 120 days in jail, a fine up to $750, or both | Article coming soon |
Felony ranges are presumptive; some circumstances change them. Penalty ranges for Title 18 classifications from the verified penalty table (C.R.S. 18-1.3-401, 18-1.3-501, 18-1.3-503).
First-degree assault (C.R.S. 18-3-202)
First-degree assault is the most serious. The usual forms require intent to cause serious bodily injury and causing it by means of a deadly weapon, or intent to disfigure seriously and permanently, or to destroy, amputate, or disable permanently a member or organ, and causing such an injury.
Another form involves knowingly creating a grave risk of death under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, and thereby causing serious bodily injury. Other forms require intent to cause serious bodily injury and a threat with a deadly weapon against someone the offender knows or reasonably should know is a peace officer, firefighter, or emergency medical service provider performing his or her duties; a judge or court officer; or, by a person lawfully confined or in custody, certain detention-facility or youth-services staff performing their duties. Another form requires intent to cause serious bodily injury, applying sufficient pressure to impede or restrict the breathing or circulation of the blood by pressure to the neck or by blocking the nose or mouth, and thereby causing serious bodily injury.
Second-degree assault (C.R.S. 18-3-203)
Second-degree assault has many forms. Examples include intending bodily injury and causing it by means of a deadly weapon, recklessly causing serious bodily injury by means of a deadly weapon, and intending bodily injury but causing serious bodily injury.
Other forms include intending to prevent someone the person knows, or should know, is a peace officer, firefighter, emergency medical care provider, or emergency medical service provider from performing a lawful duty, and intentionally causing bodily injury to another person; a separate form with serious bodily injury has a list that leaves out emergency medical care providers. Another is intentionally causing stupor, unconsciousness, or other impairment or injury by administering a substance without consent, for a purpose other than lawful medical or therapeutic treatment. Another is, with intent to cause bodily injury, applying sufficient pressure to impede or restrict the breathing or circulation of the blood by pressure to the neck or by blocking the nose or mouth, and thereby causing bodily injury. The statute lists additional forms.
Read more: the different forms of second-degree assault
Third-degree assault (C.R.S. 18-3-204)
Third-degree assault covers a person who knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury to another person. It also covers causing bodily injury with criminal negligence by means of a deadly weapon.
A second form involves intent to harass, annoy, threaten, or alarm a person the actor knows or reasonably should know is a peace officer, firefighter, emergency medical care provider, or emergency medical service provider, by causing that person to come into contact with blood, saliva, urine, other listed bodily fluids, or toxic, caustic, or hazardous material.
Vehicular assault (C.R.S. 18-3-205)
Vehicular assault involves a motor vehicle and serious bodily injury to another. One form applies when a person drives in a reckless manner and that conduct is the proximate cause of the injury.
The other forms involve driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or while ability is impaired by them. The driving-under-the-influence form is a strict liability crime under the statute, and it carries the higher class.
Menacing (C.R.S. 18-3-206)
Menacing is about fear, not injury. The person, by any threat or physical action, knowingly places or attempts to place another person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury.
Knowingly, as to a result, means the person is aware that his conduct is practically certain to cause the result (C.R.S. 18-1-501(6)). The charge rises to a felony if the threat is made by use of a firearm, knife, or bludgeon, or a simulated one.
Read more: the full guide to menacing
Reckless endangerment (C.R.S. 18-3-208)
Reckless endangerment requires no injury. A person commits it by recklessly engaging in conduct that creates a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to another person.
Recklessly means the person consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk (C.R.S. 18-1-501(8)). The charge turns on the risk created, not on harm that actually happened.
How one set of facts can lead to different charges
The mental state and the injury often decide the degree. Third-degree assault involves knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury, causing bodily injury with criminal negligence by means of a deadly weapon, or the bodily-fluid form against certain officers and providers. Second-degree assault includes causing bodily injury by means of a deadly weapon with intent to cause bodily injury, causing serious bodily injury with intent to cause bodily injury, and recklessly causing serious bodily injury by means of a deadly weapon, among other forms. First-degree assault includes forms with intent to cause serious bodily injury, intent to disfigure or disable permanently, and a knowing, extreme-indifference form.
A deadly weapon can be an ordinary object. It includes any weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance capable of producing death or serious bodily injury in the way it is used or intended to be used (C.R.S. 18-1-901(3)(e)). A charge can also change as a case develops, so confirm the exact subsection with the court.
Sentencing labels that can apply to felony assault
First-degree assault is sentenced under C.R.S. 18-1.3-406, the crime-of-violence statute (C.R.S. 18-3-202(2)(c)). Some second-degree forms are also sentenced under that statute, but the court is not required to impose a mandatory prison term for subsections (1)(b), (1)(c.5), (1)(d), and (1)(g) (C.R.S. 18-3-203(2)(c)(II)).
A domestic violence label can attach to a crime when it involves an act or threatened act of violence against a person the actor is or has been in an intimate relationship with, or when another crime is used for coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge against such a person (C.R.S. 18-6-800.3(1)). It is not a separate crime.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between second- and third-degree assault?
Third-degree assault is a class 1 misdemeanor, generally for knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury. Second-degree assault is generally a class 4 felony and requires other elements, such as intent to cause bodily injury and causing it by means of a deadly weapon, intent to cause bodily injury and causing serious bodily injury, or recklessly causing serious bodily injury by means of a deadly weapon. The statute lists further forms.
Is assault always a felony in Colorado?
Not always. Third-degree assault is a class 1 misdemeanor under C.R.S. 18-3-204(3). Second- and first-degree assault are felonies, with the class depending on the form and circumstances.
Is menacing an assault charge?
Menacing is a separate crime in the same part of Title 18. It focuses on placing someone in fear of imminent serious bodily injury, not causing injury. It is a class 1 misdemeanor, or a class 5 felony if a firearm, knife, bludgeon, or a simulated one is used.
Can I claim self-defense?
Colorado allows physical force to defend yourself or another person from what you reasonably believe is unlawful physical force, using only the degree of force you reasonably believe is necessary (C.R.S. 18-1-704). It has exceptions, such as for an initial aggressor who did not clearly withdraw, so talk with a lawyer about your facts.
Self-defense claims can be more complicated than most people believe or understand. You cannot legally use self-defense if a variety of factors apply: you were the initial aggressor, you use force beyond what is necessary to defend yourself, you were not truly facing imminent unlawful force. An experience criminal defense attorney can help you navigate a self-defense claim.
Talk with Markus Legal about your assault charge
You do not have to sort this out alone. If you or a family member has been charged in Fort Collins or Larimer County, contact us or call 970.698.5334 for a confidential consultation.
This article provides general information about Colorado law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change; consult an attorney about your specific situation. Attorney Advertising.