Background: The Arapahoe County Courthouse in Colorado (KCNC/YouTube). Inset left: Daniel Ashby (Arapahoe County Sheriff”s Office). Inset right: H. Michael Steinberg (H. Michael Steinberg).
A man in Colorado is facing serious charges after allegedly body-slamming the attorney of the individual accused of killing his nephew, resulting in the lawyer sustaining spinal injuries.
Authorities have charged 36-year-old Daniel Ashby with second-degree assault, as confirmed by Arapahoe County jail records. Ashby is currently detained in the Arapahoe County Jail with a bond set at $75,000.
The incident occurred on Monday when Ashby attended a court hearing at the Arapahoe County Courthouse. The hearing involved Christopher Ramirez-Rodriguez, a 19-year-old suspected of fatally crashing into Ashby’s 12-year-old nephew. Ashby reportedly attempted to confront Ramirez-Rodriguez but was blocked by the lawyer, H. Michael Steinberg.
According to an arrest document obtained by CBS affiliate KCNC, before the hearing commenced, Ashby “aggressively approached [H. Michael] Steinberg, attempting to reach the defendant Steinberg was representing.” Steinberg reportedly “instructed Ashby to enter the courthouse and pushed him back to create space as Ashby was invading his personal space. Subsequently, Ashby executed an ‘MMA style takedown’ on Steinberg, causing him to lose consciousness.”
The altercation, which took place in the courthouse hallway, resulted in Steinberg suffering several spinal fractures. He was taken to a nearby hospital, and on Tuesday, Steinberg disclosed to a Denver TV station that he had a “shattered pelvis” and was “in serious pain,” with surgery planned for Thursday.
Following the incident, authorities promptly arrested Ashby.
Michael Ashby, Daniel Ashby’s older brother and the father of the 12-year-old victim, said his brother and their entire family have been attending court hearings for Ramirez-Rodriguez and they are “frustrated with this legal system.”
On July 19 at about 10 a.m., the boy was using a “marked crosswalk on an electric scooter when Ramirez-Rodriguez failed to stop for the crossing’s red light and struck the boy,” the Aurora Police Department said at the time. “The investigation determined the pedestrian had activated the red signal light that stops both east and westbound traffic when the crash happened.”
Witnesses cared for the boy until first responders arrived at the scene, and he was taken to a local hospital. However, he later died from his injuries.
Police said Ramirez-Rodriguez remained at the scene and “was cooperative with the investigation.” While they did not suspect he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, they were “investigating distracted driving as a contributing factor to the crash.” He was charged with careless driving resulting in death.
After the alleged attack this week, the judge in the case reportedly scolded the families in attendance “about taking justice into their own hands.”
Law&Crime has reached out to the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office for more information about Monday’s incident.
Daniel Ashby is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
