A Colorado judge on Monday ordered Aurora resident Daniel Alexander Ashby, 36, to stand trial for felony assault, after witnesses say Ashby body slammed defense lawyer H. Michael Steinberg in an Arapahoe County courthouse hallway last December. Witnesses said Ashby was trying to get to Steinberg’s client, who is charged with killing Ashby’s 12-year-old nephew in a fatal accident last December.
Police characterized the incident as an “MMA-style takedown,” which caused serious injuries to Steinberg, necessitating surgery. At a preliminary hearing Monday, a special prosecutor in the case, Jake Friedberg, said the lawyer “may never walk again. He’s having a really difficult time,” said the prosecutor.
Ashby’s lawyer, Spencer Friedrich, told the judge that Ashby acted in self-defense after Steinberg pushed him.
But the judge said he doubted Ashby used reasonable force in the confrontation. The judicial officer also refused to lower Ashby’s $75,000 bond, noting the defendant’s previous criminal record, which includes domestic violence arrests, assault, and multiple convictions for violating protection orders.
An Arapahoe County deputy testified Monday that after the incident, Ashby told the deputy, “He wanted to see the child killer.” Deputy Brian Tucker said Ashby approached Steinberg “aggressively” before Steinberg physically pushed him back, in an apparent attempt to shield his client, and Ashby dropped the lawyer with “a double leg takedown and drove him into the ground.” Other witnesses said they too heard Ashby say he wanted to see the “child murderer.”…