Man charged in deadly assault of 70-year-old after Christmas fender bender, CO cops say
A man authorities believe beat an elderly man to death after a fender bender on Christmas is in custody and facing assault charges in Colorado, cops say.
Los Angeles police detained Shane Kaufman on a manslaughter warrant on March 22 and extradited him to Colorado on April 16 to face a second-degree assault charge, a Thornton police spokesperson said.
The spokesperson deferred further questions to the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Officials with the 17th judicial district did not reply to McClatchy News’ request for information.
The deadly assault occurred just before 10 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 25, McClatchy News previously reported. Police found the victim at Thirsty’s Pub in Thornton, about 10 miles north of Denver, and said they learned he had been punched and kicked after he had backed into another person’s car.
He was taken to a hospital and died the next day from his injuries, McClatchy News previously reported.
A witness who saw the assault later told police he saw the other driver get out, hit the older man and knock him unconscious, CBS News reported.
Kaufman is from California, but he was staying in town near the Colorado pub at the time, the station reported. He’s scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 18, the outlet reported.
The elderly victim, Manuel Osvaldo Jacquez-Machado, was “the joy of the party,” his son Javier Osvaldo-Jacquez told KUSA. He had survived cancer and lived with rheumatoid arthritis for 35 years, the station reported.
This story was originally published April 25, 2023 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Man charged in deadly assault of 70-year-old after Christmas fender bender, CO cops say."
