Assault and menacing are different crimes in Colorado. Assault is causing physical injury to someone – such as by punching. In contrast, menacing is putting a person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury or death – such as by holding up a fist to a person’s face.
Other examples of assault versus menacing in Colorado are:
| Assault | Menacing |
| Shooting a person | Pointing a gun at a person |
| Stabbing a person | Holding a knife up to a person |
| Hitting a person with a baseball bat | Holding a baseball bat to a person’s head |
| Throwing a brick, which hits a person | Throwing a brick in the direction of a person, and it misses |
In short, menacing is like an attempted assault. Since assault involves physical contact and menacing does not, assault charges typically carry harsher penalties than menacing charges.1
Assault penalties
Assault carries a potential jail or prison sentence depending on the specific assault charge you were convicted of.
| Colorado assault crime | Penalties |
First-degree assault (CRS 18-3-202):
| Class 3 felony:
|
Second-degree assault (CRS 18-3-203):
| Class 4 felony:
|
Third-degree assault (CRS 18-3-204):
| Class 1 misdemeanor:
|
Menacing penalties
In Colorado, menacing is usually a class 1 misdemeanor punishable by:
- Up to 364 days in jail, and/or
- Up to $1,000.
However, menacing becomes a class 5 felony if:
- There is any use of a deadly weapon (or of any item a person would reasonably believe is a deadly weapon); or
- You represent verbally or otherwise that you are armed with a deadly weapon.
Class 5 felony penalties include:
- 1 to 3 years in prison, and/or
- $1,000 to $100,000.3
Menacing with a deadly weapon is a Colorado felony.
Fighting the charges
Here at Colorado Legal Defense Group, I have represented literally thousands of people charged with assault or menacing. In my experience, the following legal defenses have proven very effective with judges, juries, and prosecutors:
- The victim was attacking you, and you were acting in lawful self-defense;
- The incident was a blameless accident;
- You were falsely accused (sometimes accusers even self-inflict their own injuries);
- The victim consented to your physical actions; or
- The police committed misconduct, such as coercing your confession.
In every criminal case, prosecutors have the burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. As long as the D.A.’s evidence is too weak or unreliable to support a conviction, the charges should be dropped.
Additional resources
If you are a crime victim, you may be eligible for assistance. Refer to the following for more information:
- Crime Victim Compensation – Colorado Division of Criminal Justice.
- Victim Assistance – Colorado Attorney General.
- Crime Victim Emergency Fund – Colorado Organization for Victim Assistance (COVA).
- Colorado Crime Victims – Office for Victims of Crime.
- Find Help and Information for Crime Victims – U.S. Department of Justice.
