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Pueblo police officer to go to trial in misdemeanor assault case chieftain.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chieftain.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A Pueblo police officer who was originally charged with felony assault in district court is instead facing misdemeanor charges in county court in connection to a fight at a high school graduation party on Quincy Street in Pueblo last year. .
The case stems from a July 25, 2020, party for the high school graduation of Jimenez' wife. Jimenez told investigators of two attacks, the first of which involved Villanueva. In total, Jimenez told investigators five or six individuals had been involved with the assaults.
The case against Villanueva was filed in the 10th Judicial District Court of Colorado on Nov. 17, but Judge Thomas Flesher ruled that he did not find sufficient evidence that Villanueva had committed the worst of Jimenez' injuries, and so there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Villanueva for a felony charge.
On July 25, 2020, a party was held on Quincy Street in Pueblo, and the next day, a criminal investigation began.
The investigation was to see if a Pueblo police officer was involved in a serious assault that night at the party, and if he was involved, how much of the victim's bodily injury could be from his actions.
Bennie Andrew Villanueva, 32, of Pueblo, was charged with second-degree assault in November — a Class 4 felony — in the bodily injury of Rigoberto Jimenez, also of Pueblo.
The case was filed in the 10th District Court of Colorado, but if a hearing scheduled for 11:15 a.m. Monday, April 19, does not go in favor of the prosecution, it could be bound to the county court, as Judge Thomas Flesher expressed concerns that there was not enough evidence to justify a felony assault charge.