The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Shooter charged with two felonies
Not much good can come when guns and alcohol mix, and that maxim proved true early Tuesday morning when a Crested Butte man was shot and injured in a local bar. The incident resulted in 21-year-old Michael Fritz of Crested Butte being arrested and taken to the Gunnison Detention facility. His friend is hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the pelvis.
According to a Probable Cause Affidavit filed from the Crested Butte Marshal’s Office, witnesses say the two men were talking together when Fritz fired a shot from a handgun. Everyone said there didn’t appear to be any anger or malice involved and by all accounts, including one from the victim, it was an accident.
According to the marshal’s report, Fritz said he had five or six drinks at a Crested Butte South bar and then hitched up to Crested Butte. He said he had another five or six drinks at Kochevar’s. He said he was “hanging around with his buddy” when the accident occurred and he fled the bar.
He was arrested about 15 minutes after the accident a few blocks from the bar. He said he doesn’t remember much of the incident.
Fritz is being held in the Gunnison County Detention Facility in Gunnison pending charges being filed by the District Attorney’s Office. Fritz is facing two felony charges and two misdemeanor counts.
The incident is still officially under investigation. For more details, pick up a copy of the Crested Butte News Thursday or check back online.
