Man attacked 80-year-old over money, hosed blood off driveway, CO officials say
A man attacked an 80-year-old whom he was living with over money, then hosed his blood off the driveway, Colorado prosecutors said.
A jury found Daniel Fougner, 65, guilty of felony assault on an at-risk person in connection with the “violent attack” in 2024, the Colorado District Attorney’s 23rd Judicial District said in an Oct. 10 news release.
Attorney information for Fougner was not immediately available.
In the release, Chief Deputy District Attorney Eva Wilson said the man had “opened his home and heart to someone who was down on his luck.”
“When he simply asked to be repaid, he was met with brutal violence,” Wilson said. “This verdict assures accountability on a man who preyed on the kindness of another.”
While Fougner was staying with the man in October 2024, the two got into a argument outside the man’s home about money Fougner owed , prosecutors said.
Fougner got a large piece of wood and hit the man in the head two times, leaving the man with “a brain bleed that a medical expert testified posed a substantial risk of death,” according to prosecutors.
Fougner tried to wash away the man’s blood from the driveway with a garden hose, then fled, prosecutors said.
“He was later arrested in Castle Rock,” the district attorney’s office said.
The man was admitted to an intensive care unit at a hospital and was expected to recover, according to prosecutors.
In addition to assault, prosecutors said Fougner was also found guilty of tampering with physical evidence.
“This was a vicious and deliberate attack on an elderly man who could have easily died from his injuries,” Deputy District Attorney Joe Ratner said in the release. “After beating Mr. Wright, the defendant tried to wash away the evidence and flee. The jury saw through that and delivered justice.”
Fougner is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 1 and faces between 16 and 48 years in prison, according to prosecutors.
Castle Rock is about a 30-mile drive south from Denver.
