BRECKENRIDGE — The lawyer for an Australian man on trial for hitting a co-worker with a snowball said Thursday that it was just “playful action in the snow,” not an assault.
Authorities say Andrew Thistleton, 21, hit Michelle Oehlert with the snowball at Copper Mountain ski resort on Feb. 4. They both worked at Breeze Ski Rentals.
On the opening day of the trial, Thistleton’s lawyer Lisa Moses said workers at the ski shop liked to joke around, including throwing snowballs made from snow collected from rented skis inside the shop.
“This is not an assault. This is not harassment. That’s not was this is. This is playful action in the snow,” Moses said.
Witnesses are scheduled to testify today, and a verdict is expected by the end of the day.
