The trial of Ronald J. Morosko, a Pennsylvania muzzleloading hunter accused of fatally shooting a Texas bow hunter in Dolores County, has been delayed into the summer.
The five-day trial was set to begin May 16 in Dolores County Court in Dove Creek. It has now been rescheduled for mid-August.
During a pretrial readiness hearing Tuesday in Montezuma County Combined Courts, District Court Judge Todd Plewe granted a continuance requested by defense attorney Kenneth Pace because two key defense witnesses had scheduling issues.
When asked by Plewe, Morosko agreed to the trial delay. He attended the hearing remotely.
Plewe said he “was reluctant” to grant the continuance because the case was proceeding and time had been set aside for the trial.
Pace said the scheduling problem arose last week regarding the availability of two expert witnesses that are “critical” to the case. He emphasized the continuance was not intended to delay the trial.
Dr. Rita M. Baker, an expert in psychology and trauma response, can’t attend the May trial because she is having surgery at the same time, Pace said. Another defense witness, retired Lakewood Police Chief Alan Youngs, has to be in court for another case during the same time as the Morosko trial.
22nd Judicial District Attorney Matt Margeson reported he was prepared to proceed with the May trial.
Margeson said that while he understood the defense’s issue, the prosecution has 15 witnesses that have been scheduled for the trial, and it was his preference the case move forward in May.
A five-day trial is scheduled to start either Aug. 15 or Aug. 29 to allow for rescheduling of witnesses for defense and prosecution.
The District Attorney’s Office has charged Morosko with Class 4 felony manslaughter, Class 5 felony criminally negligent homicide and hunting in a careless manner, a misdemeanor. Morosko has pleaded not guilty.
Morosko allegedly fatally shot Gregory John Gabrisch Sept. 17 after he mistook him for an elk near the Kilpacker Trail on the San Juan National Forest, according to an arrest affidavit.
Morosko’s hunting partner, Slade M. Pepke, was using a call to lure elk within shooting range.
Morosko told deputies from Montezuma and Dolores counties that he heard an elk bugle and scream and believed a bull elk was coming his way.
“When he saw white in the pines, he took a shot at what he thought was an elk,” according to the affidavit, written by Dolores County Sheriff Don Wilson.
Morosko said the archery hunter was wearing dark-brown camouflage, not hunter orange.
Bow hunters are not required to wear daylight fluorescent orange clothing during the archery season, according to Colorado law.
Morosko and Pepke are from Pennsylvania, and Gabrisch was from Houston.
The incident occurred in Game Management Unit 71, a 520-square-mile area that stretches from north of Dolores to Lizard Head Pass and includes the Lizard Head Wilderness Area.
The shooting occurred when muzzleloader and archery seasons overlap.
During the Jan. 12 Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission meeting, CPW staff members recommended a policy change that would have required archery hunters to wear fluorescent orange or pink during the overlapping muzzleloader season in September. The proposal was rejected unanimously by the wildlife commission at the request of bow hunter groups.
Bow hunters are not required to wear blaze orange during the bow season, a preference they say is needed to keep cover at close range of their prey and take an ethical and accurate shot that kills the animal.
Rifle and muzzleloader hunters are required to wear at least 500 square inches of solid fluorescent orange or pink above the waist. Part of it must be a hat or head covering.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
