A 30-year-old man is facing multiple felony charges after an alleged incident in which he strangled the victim, pointed a gun at her, and fired shots toward a nearby barn during a two-day span of alleged violence near Johnstown. Kansas Naquin was arrested on suspicion of several domestic-violence-related charges stemming from incidents investigators say began in the early morning hours of August 29 and culminated the following night when the victim sought help at a Fort Collins emergency room.
The first assault reportedly occurred around 3 a.m. on August 29 in the 20100 block of Weld County Road 15 near Johnstown. Investigators say the victim and Naquin later drove to the 4600 block of Weld County Road 46, where Naquin allegedly discharged a firearm multiple times toward a nearby barn and fired the weapon in the opposite direction of the victim.
Naquin also allegedly pointed a firearm at the victim during the encounter. The victim and Naquin then reportedly drove to a friend's residence, where Naquin allegedly assaulted the victim outside the home, reportedly grabbing her face and shoving her several times.
Second Assault Reported at Fort Collins Emergency Room
Deputies responded to a report of a cold assault at the UCHealth Emergency Room at Harmony Campus in Fort Collins shortly after 12:30 a.m. on August 30, the sheriff's office says. The victim reportedly told investigators she had been strangled. That facility is listed as UCHealth Emergency Department - Harmony by Emergency Physicians of the Rockies.
Weld County Sheriff's Office detectives investigated the two reported incidents of domestic violence-related assault and developed probable cause to obtain an arrest warrant, per the sheriff's office. The agency said no further information would be released the day of the arrest.
Felony Counts Reflect Colorado's Strangulation and Firearm Statutes
Naquin was charged with second-degree assault causing serious bodily injury (DV), second-degree assault-aggravated family-strangulation (DV), menacing with a real or simulated weapon (DV), and reckless endangerment (DV). Under Colorado Revised Statutes § 18-3-203, second-degree assault — including assault by strangulation — is a Class 4 felony carrying a presumptive sentence of two to six years in state prison and fines up to $500,000, according to Bacharach Law.
Colorado lawmakers designated non-fatal strangulation as its own standalone Class 4 felony under House Bill 16-1080 in 2016, because physical trauma from strangulation is often deceptive or delayed even though it carries a high risk of lethality, as Hoodline reported in its coverage of Denver's strangulation protocol rollout. The menacing charge, meanwhile, is elevated from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 5 felony when it involves the actual or simulated use of a firearm, punishable by one to three years in prison and up to two years of mandatory parole, according to Rights & Liberties Law Firm.
Domestic Violence Designation Triggers Automatic Consequences
Each of Naquin's charges carries a domestic violence designation. The article provides no further details about arrest procedures.
The article does not detail any protective-order or firearm-relinquishment requirements. It also does not specify an evaluation or treatment requirement.
It remains unclear whether prosecutors will pursue a formal crime of violence designation, which under Colorado law can apply when second-degree assault involves serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon and would require a five-year mandatory minimum in certain such cases while eliminating probation as an option, according to the Colorado Defenders law firm. The Weld County Sheriff's Office has not released additional details on the case, and as with any pending case, the charges remain merely accusations, with the defendant presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Part of a Broader Statewide Pattern
The case follows the arrest of a Colorado trooper sergeant on a strangulation charge. It also cites a report from the Colorado Attorney General's Office saying domestic violence accounted for roughly 20% of homicides over the preceding year, according to 9NEWS.
