DENVER (KDVR) — A Parker man will spend 15 years behind bars after he violently assaulted a former longtime friend over an alleged dispute at a concert while he was drunk and high, according to the 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
The district attorney’s office on Friday announced that Elbert County District Judge Theresa Slade sentenced Richard Szabelski, 49, to 15 years in prison over the July 2024 incident in a “bizarre attempted murder case.”
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He pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as a crime of violence and DUI.
“This was not just an act of violence- it was a betrayal,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Eva Wilson said in a press release. “The victim and his family were shocked and deeply traumatized by the defendant’s actions, especially because he was someone they had trusted for years.”…