Man who says he was with Cozad night of attack testifies

GREELEY – The man who the defense claims attacked a University of Northern Colorado punter took the stand Friday morning in the trial against the backup punter who is accused of the attack.

Defense attorneys claim Kevin Aussprung attacked Rafael Mendoza and not Mitch Cozad, UNC's backup punter at the time of the attack.

Cozad is accused of stabbing Rafael Mendoza in his kicking leg last Sept. 11 when they were teammates at Northern Colorado. Police and prosecutors allege Cozad attacked Mendoza in hopes of taking over the starter's job.

Cozad, of Wheatland, Wyo., is on trial on charges of attempted first-degree murder and second-degree assault and could face 48 years in prison if convicted.

Aussprung says he was with Cozad the night of the attack, but did not participate.

Aussprung was sworn in after both attorneys went into the judge's chambers for a meeting.

Aussprung testified that he and Cozad lived in the same dorm and were acquaintances. He says Cozad approached him before Sept. 11.

"He asked me to do him a favor, however he did not tell me what it was," said Aussprung.

"He drove around one night and we were just sitting around talking and he drove through this apartment complex and said, 'This is where my business would be taking place,'" testified Aussprung.

On the night of Sept. 11, Aussprung says he was in Cozad's room.

"He told that we had to wear dark clothing so he gave me a black hoodie and black sweatpants," said Aussprung.

Once arriving at Mendoza's apartment complex Aussprung said he and Cozad took the tape off their license plates. Aussprung says he took the tape off the front plates.

"He (Cozad) left the car and told me just to watch the car while he took care of something," said Aussprung.

"Did you ask any questions," asked the prosecutor.

"No, I did not," replied Aussprung.

"Why not?" asked the prosecutor.

"Because I was scared for my life," said Aussprung.

"Mr. Aussprung, did you stab Rafael Mendoza that night?" asked the prosecutor.

"No, I did not," said Aussprung.

Aussprung also testified that he had back surgery in April of last year. The prosecution indicated this proves Aussprung could not have committed the crime.

"I did not have movement of bending my body, I could not full-out sprint. I could muster a decent job and that would only be for a short period of time. I could not do distance running at all and I was supposed to avoid contact at all possible," he said.

After Aussprung's testimony, the prosecution called two other witnesses before a recess.

Earlier on Friday, an investigator testified he found no blood inside or outside Cozad's car.

Jan LeMay, a criminalist with a Greeley forensics lab, said Friday his tests found no blood on Cozad's Dodge Charger.

A witness testified earlier that a car - later identified by authorities as the Charger - had stopped outside a liquor store the night of the attack and two men dressed in black got out and stripped tape off the license plates.

On Thursday, Mendoza testified he once considered sharing his apartment with Cozad. He also repeated his earlier assertion that he could not identify his attacker because only the assailant's eyes were visible beneath the cinched-up hood of a black sweat shirt.

"It wasn't Mitchell Cozad, was it?" asked Joseph Gavaldon, Cozad's attorney.

"I couldn't tell you that," Mendoza replied.

Former police detective Angela Quinn testified that she found two pairs of black shoes, four black shirts and a black sweat shirt with a hood that had white stripes down the sleeves during a Sept. 14 search of Cozad's room.

Mendoza has said his attacker was dressed all in black. The witness who reported seeing the two men peel tape off the Charger's license plate, Kyle Oakeson, said they were dressed in black.

Before jurors left for the day, they sent a note to Judge Marcelo Kopcow asking him to ask Quinn whether Mendoza or Oakeson mentioned white stripes down the arm of a black hooded sweat shirt.

"No," Quinn answered.