VAIL, Colo.—The suspect in a fatal Colorado bar shooting once begged authorities to return his guns after he pleaded guilty to illegal discharge of a firearm.
Richard Moreau wrote a judge in 2005 that firing the gun was a “stupid, unfortunate mistake.” Moreau said in the letter that it had been the first time he had a loaded gun in his house and promised that it would never happen again.
“I thank the Lord every day that this didn’t result in injury or death,” Moreau wrote.
It’s unclear whether Moreau got his guns back and a police report of the incident was not immediately available.
Prosecutors are considering filing a first-degree murder charge against Moreau for the death of 70-year-old Gary Bruce Kitching last weekend at the Sandbar Sports Grill in Vail. Three others in the bar were wounded.
Witnesses told police the shootings happened after Moreau was escorted out of the bar because of an altercation.
Moreau is being held without bail.
Police say in an affidavit released this week that Moreau told investigators after the shooting that he believed he “was in a lot of trouble” and probably headed to a mental institution or jail. Police also say Moreau told investigators he had a half of bottle of whiskey the day of the shooting and three drinks at the bar.
Moreau said he is a New Hampshire native who moved to Vail in 1970 and skis more than 150 days a year. He also told the Vail Daily in an interview two years ago that he was taking medication for post-traumatic stress disorder attributed to serving two tours of duty in Vietnam in the late 1960s. Moreau has said he was an Army Ranger but a group that researchers veterans’ military records is questioning Moreau’s claims.
Mary Schantag, a POW Network researcher, said Moreau is listed as a radio teletype operator, not an Army Ranger, in the group’s database.
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Information from: Vail Daily,
