Gun jammed as longtime friend tried to gun down ‘lucky’ man, CO officials say
A man drunkenly tried to shoot a longtime friend at his home in a “bizarre attempted murder case,” Colorado prosecutors say.
Richard Szabelski, 49, of Parker, was given a 15-year prison sentence in connection with the “violent attack,” the Colorado District Attorney’s 23rd Judicial District said in a Sept. 19 news release.
Szabelski’s sentencing comes after he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as a crime of violence and driving under the influence, prosecutors said.
An attorney for Szabelski did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment Sept. 23.
“This was not just an act of violence- it was a betrayal,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Eva Wilson said in the 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.”
Szabelski and his wife attended a Red Rocks concert with the longtime friend and his teenage son in July 2024, prosecutors said.
“During the event, (the 48-year-old friend) allegedly made an inappropriate gesture toward Szabelski’s wife,” according to prosecutors.
Then, later that night, prosecutors said the friend and his family awoke to the sounds of gunshots outside their home in rural Elbert County.
The man and his son walked outside and were confronted by Szabelski armed with a handgun, prosecutors said.
When Szabelski tried to shoot his friend, the gun jammed, then Szabelski hit the man in the face, telling him “he was lucky” the gun didn’t fire, prosecutors said.
Szabelski drove away from the home but was later arrested, the district attorney’s office said.
Toxicology reports showed that at the time of the attack Szabelski had marijuana and alcohol in his system, prosecutors said.
Elbert County is about a 70-mile drive southeast from Denver.
