YOUR AD HERE »

Glenwood transient eludes charges

PETE FOWLER
garfield county correspondent

GLENWOOD SPRINGS ” William Masoner no longer faces attempted murder charges after being accused of severely beating three men with a baseball bat at a hillside transient camp just outside the city.

Deputy District Attorney James Leuthauser said in court last week that he filed a “detailed and lengthy” motion not to pursue charges. He indicated the investigation is ongoing and charges could be brought in the future.

“Obviously, I think it’s the right decision,” public defender Tina Fang said. “I think this is one of the strongest incidents of self-defense I have ever seen.”



Fang asked for Masoner, 38, to be immediately released, saying he’s already spent about 30 days in the Garfield County Jail.

Both attorneys said after the hearing they couldn’t discuss the case further.



Magistrate Lain Leoniak signed an order granting the motion not to pursue charges, and Masoner was expected to be released Wednesday afternoon.

The three-page motion corresponds with arguments of self-defense by Masoner and two people who were in his tent ” Michael Fuselier, known as “Cooter,” and Lori Komaniecki.

The motion indicates its description of events may not be totally accurate and could change as the “difficult and ongoing” investigation continues.

The prosecutor said there isn’t enough evidence to charge Masoner with a crime and he was “within his right to defend himself from knife wielding, multiple individuals who attempted to light his tent on fire, blocking the only exit with the fire.”

But it says the difficult determination is whether Masoner kept hitting the men with the bat after they no longer posed a threat to him. Leuthauser wrote that during the day on May 31, someone was hostile and asked Masoner to leave his campsite on a hillside near Wal-Mart. Then, around 11:30 p.m., someone pulled the rain fly down off Masoner’s tent and thrust a large piece of flaming cardboard onto the piled-up fly, causing it to burn near the entrance of the tent, according to the motion.

“Masoner jumped out of the tent while his two companions stayed inside,” the motion indicates. “The companions were able to extinguish the fire but remained in the tent.”

The prosecution says Masoner stood up and was attacked by three individuals including the man who’d harassed him earlier in the day.

“At least one” of them had a knife, and Masoner received a knife wound to his face, according to the motion.

Masoner ran uphill a short distance to a fire pit, and the three men pursued him, causing “other injuries, including a bruised eye,” the motion indicated.

Masoner grabbed an aluminum baseball bat and severely beat the men. “One of Masoner’s companions, from inside the tent, heard one of the assailants say, ‘Please stop,’ at which time the fight stopped,” the motion reads.

One woman told police Masoner “freaked out” and attacked the three men from behind before coming at her.

But the motion indicates her account is “unsupported” based on available evidence and the lack of forensic evidence.

Blows from the baseball bat nearly killed Scott Cannon and Robert Davis and sent them both to the Denver Health Medical Center, where they’re still recovering.

A third man was treated and released from Valley View Hospital. The two men’s mothers said their sons may have permanent injuries.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

As a Summit Daily News reader, you make our work possible.

Summit Daily is embarking on a multiyear project to digitize its archives going back to 1989 and make them available to the public in partnership with the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. The full project is expected to cost about $165,000. All donations made in 2023 will go directly toward this project.

Every contribution, no matter the size, will make a difference.