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Suspect in Breckenridge assault in July identified as 23-year-old Charles J. Moser

The suspect implicated in a Breckenridge assault last month that sent a man to the hospital with serious head injuries has been identified as 23-year-old Charles J. Moser of Washington.

At about 10:30 p.m. on July 15 a Breckenridge police officer responded to an assault in progress on South Main Street, near the Crepes A La Carte restaurant, according to court documents. Dispatch advised the officer that a man, later identified as Moser, struck another man in the head with a 7-foot-long walking stick, and that the reporting party couldn’t tell if the victim was still alive.

On arrival the officer noticed bleeding from lacerations on the victim’s head and on the surrounding cement, but the man was conscious and breathing. Emergency medical services arrived on scene to treat the man, and he was subsequently transported to St. Anthony’s Hospital in Lakewood where he underwent emergency surgery. He has since been released, according to a GoFundMe campaign set up to help raise money for his medical costs.



One witness on scene told the officer that he saw Moser hit the man on the head with a large stick “for no apparent reason.” Two employees of Crepes A La Carte told the officer that they didn’t see the assault, but heard two people arguing followed by Moser coming up to their window and telling them to call 911.

Two Summit County Sheriff’s deputies located Moser hiding in the bushes in the Main Street Alley behind Kenosha Steakhouse and put him into custody. The Breckenridge officer questioned Moser after multiple witnesses were able to positively identify him as being involved.



Upon questioning, Moser told police that he was attacked first and acted in self-defense. He said that he was sitting on a deck south of the crepe cart with a sign asking people for money, when the man came up and told him he needed a permit to panhandle. According to Moser, there was a short confrontation before the man spit on his sign and took his backpack. Moser also told police that the man elbowed him in the face before he fought back, though he showed no signs of injury and denied medical attention after being taken into custody, according to court documents.

Moser was booked without further incident, but even in custody trouble followed him into the next day. Early in the morning on July 16, Breckenridge Police were searching an abandoned wagon containing miscellaneous objects to be submitted into evidence and stumbled across a pill bottle with Moser’s name on it.

Officers recognized the item as possible drug paraphernalia and took it to the police station to test the gold, powdery substance inside. A drug kit tested positive for .19 grams of amphetamine, a schedule-2 controlled substance.

Moser is charged with class-3 felony assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree and the crime of violence — special enhancement, a designation typically used when an offender has an aggravated background or fact related to the case, according to District Attorney Bruce Brown. Moser is also charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Moser will head to court for a preliminary hearing for all charges on Aug. 14 at the Summit County Justice Center at 11 a.m.


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