Two Florida brothers claimed today that they were acting in self-defense during a Steamboat Springs brawl that resulted in the death of Sgt. 1st Class Richard Lopez, a decorated combat veteran who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The two men, who were identified only as “Eddie” and “David” by Denver lawyer Charles Feldmann, said the men traveled to Steamboat Springs during the New Year holidays on a family ski vacation.
Feldmann said Eddie traveled with his wife and 2-year-old daughter, their neighborhood friends and with his parents. David also traveled to Steamboat Springs with his longtime girlfriend, who also is from Florida.
According to the brothers, they were at the Tap House Sports Grill, 729 Lincoln Ave., on the night of Jan. 1 and into the morning of Jan. 2, when Eddie and his wife, along with David and his girlfriend, “attempted to flee the increasingly hostile environment” in the bar.
The two brothers claimed that bar patrons “were beginning to take and place bets on the brewing altercation with three physically imposing and highly trained members” of the U.S. military, including a paratrooper and special forces sergeant.
Feldmann claimed that outside the front entrance of the Tap House just after midnight, the two brothers were cornered and attacked by the three military men, who they said were looking for a fight.
“Eddie and David were not the initial aggressors in this physical confrontation,” said Feldmann. “Eddie and David did not provoke this attack. Eddie and David defended themselves and defended their wife and girlfriend from being attacked.”
The men and their acquaintances fled the brief “but intense” physical confrontation by taking a taxi from the scene, said the lawyer. They later learned, Feldmann claimed, that Lopez slipped and fell on the ice and was badly injured as a result of the fall.
Steamboat Springs Police Capt. Joel Rae reacted strongly this afternoon to the defense statement.
“The Steamboat Springs Police Department continues to conduct a thorough investigation concerning the death of Richard Lopez,’ said Rae. “We are not – not – basing our investigation on what four individuals have said to a defense attorney, those being the two brothers from Florida and the wife and girlfriend.”
“Our investigation is based on every aspect of the case including interviews with all witnesses, suspects, victims, peripheral witnesses and physical evidence,” added Rae. “In the end, we are confident that justice will be served and the suspect responsible will be held accountable by law.”
Rae said that district attorney-elect Elizabeth Oldham, who will take office next week, is being kept fully informed on developments in the case.
Michael Dobersen, the Arapahoe County coroner who performed the autopsy on Lopez, said today that it appears Lopez was struck in the jaw — where a laceration or tearing was clearly visible — and that after he was punched, he fell backward in “an unprotected fall.”
Dobersen said the Routt County coroner has classified Lopez’s death as a homicide.
Lopez died from complications from hitting the back of his head on the pavement, said Dobersen.
“With any injury like that, the brain swells, and when it swells, that’s when problems happen,” said Dobersen. “And that’s what ultimately causes the death. What it does is interfere with circulation of blood into the brain. The brain is in a small contained box essentially, and when it swells, it just doesn’t have anywhere to go except down a hole at the base of the brain where the spinal cord comes through.”
“It is also where all the vessels come through as well. So when the brain swells, it pushes down in there and essentially blocks off circulation to the brain,” said the coroner.
But Feldmann said that “at no time did either Eddie or David initiate or provoke these attackers into a physical confrontation.”
“Eddie and David acted only to protect themselves and their wife and girlfriend from the unavoidable confrontation with these military men, after their unsuccessful attempt to flee the Tap House, said Feldmann.”
Feldmann said the brothers are deeply traumatized by the incident. He also said their family is “terribly saddened by the tragic loss of Sgt. Lopez, and the loss of Sgt. Lopez’s exceptional service and dedication, and the loss to his family and friends and his comrades in arms.”
Shortly after the incident, Capt. Rae said the dispute began when Lopez played a Jimmy Buffett song on a the bar’s jukebox, identified by Lopez’s relatives as “Margaritaville.”
Rae said Lopez obviously was enjoying the song, which upset the two other patrons. The pair made disparaging remarks about the song’s selection, and the argument escalated on the street at Lincoln Avenue and 7th Street, some distance from the bar.
According to family members, Lopez — of Fayetteville, N.C. — was a member of U.S. special forces in Iraq and Afghanistan who was badly wounded in Afghanistan.
Gloria Bovadilla, Lopez’s aunt, said he was shot multiple times in Afghanistan, receiving serious wounds to his bladder and leg.
“He was totally devoted to the Army,” said Bovadilla. “He loved to work for the military. He was a good person.”
Bovadilla said Lopez usually spent the holidays with relatives either in Florida or California but that this year, he decided to go to Steamboat Springs to ski with some of his military buddies.
Lopez was at the Tap House with brothers Timothy and Wes Mottlau, who grew up in the Steamboat Springs area.
After the incident, Lopez was immediately taken to Yampa Valley Medical Center and then airlifted to Denver.
Rae said that Wes Mottlau also is in the Army and was living in Fayetteville. He said Timothy Mottlau is in the Navy.
According to the Army, Lopez enlisted as an infantryman in 1993 and during his career served at multiple duty stations, stateside and overseas. He was a scout-sniper, a U.S. Army recruiter and a platoon sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division. He became a special forces soldier in 2005 and was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg.
His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star with two oak-leaf clusters, the Purple Heart, the Meritorious Service Medal with oak-leaf cluster, and the Army Commendation Medal with three oak-leaf clusters. He is survived by his son, Nicholas James Lopez; his father, Vincent Suarez; a sister, Mary Ventura; and his brother, Mark Suarez.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
