A judge has delayed the trial of a 51-year-old man accused of punching a Cog Railway parking attendant and leaving him critically injured, setting a new date of March 15, 2027. The postponement followed a late prosecution medical report that gave the defense too little time to respond, according to the account below. Randy Blevins is charged with second-degree assault with a sentence enhancer because the 66-year-old worker was seriously hurt. Blevins has remained free on bond since the day after the August 2025 confrontation in Manitou Springs.
A Late Report Upends the Case Timeline
Blevins was originally scheduled for trial on November 16, 2026, but El Paso County District Court Judge Amanda Philipps granted a delay after what she called the “extremely late disclosure” of evidence, according to the Gazette. At issue was a report from the prosecution's medical expert that reportedly marked a “180-degree turn” from an earlier finding, delivered to the defense just two weeks before trial was set to begin, per the same account. Colorado's Rule 16 requires prosecutors to disclose evidence pertinent to the defense no more than 35 days before a felony trial.
The doctor initially concluded that the incident was not connected to the worker’s stroke, but the later report changed that assessment, according to Blevins’s attorney, Shimon Kohn. Kohn asked for more time to find a defense medical expert and said the defense disputes that either the punch or the fall caused the stroke. Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Cecil did not oppose the delay. The four-day trial is now scheduled to begin March 15.
Conflicting Accounts of How the Fight Started
The August 16, 2025, encounter began after three Cog Railway parking attendants followed Blevins and his wife through the railway’s parking lot, yelling that they were trespassing. Accounts differ on what happened next. Detective Amanda Strider testified that Blevins said the worker struck him first and that he acted in self-defense; some witnesses supported that account and others did not, the Gazette reported. Other witnesses said the worker grabbed Blevins by his backpack or shirt while trying to swing him toward the exit.
Blevins acknowledged hitting the worker at least once. He told an investigator he “gave it all he had” when he threw the punch. The worker was hospitalized in critical condition. Whether the stroke was caused by the blow or by the fall that followed remains unresolved.
A Known Flashpoint at a Busy Tourist Attraction
A railway employee told a detective that trespassing in the parking lot was a common problem and that staff often faced aggression from visitors, the Gazette reported. The Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway can accommodate up to 3,600 passengers a day across as many as 15 departures, according to its website, as cited by the Daily Mail — volume that underscores how often parking attendants and visitors cross paths at the popular Manitou Springs attraction.
The Railway’s Parking Guidance
The Broadmoor Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway’s parking guidance says its lot is limited and available only 30 minutes before a departure. That guidance addresses parking access, not visitor conduct or staff responsibilities, and does not establish what happened during the 2025 encounter.
The railway company is an affiliate of Denver-based Anschutz Corp., which also owns Clarity Media Group, the parent company of the Gazette, according to CBS Colorado. Blevins posted a $10,000 bond the day after the incident and has remained out of custody since, with his case now set to go before a jury next spring.
