Colorado influencer who gained infamy for controversial Hanging Lake photos has been charged with assaulting snowmobiler

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (KKTV) - A notorious Colorado outdoor influencer is in trouble with the law again.

David Lesh -- whose viral stunts have infamously included illegally standing on a log at Hanging Lake and defecating at Maroon Lake -- is accused of assaulting a snowmobiler in Summit County last month.

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday that Lesh, 37, had turned himself in to police in Glendale this week, nearly one month after the alleged incident.

“On March 25th, at approximately 1250 hours, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office and USFS law enforcement personnel responded to the Spring Creek trailhead in unincorporated Summit County for the report of an assault that just occurred,” the sheriff’s office said in a social media post. “It was reported that David A. Lesh (DOB 06/19/85), a resident of the Denver area, violently assaulted another snowmobiler near the trailhead. Lesh was not on scene when deputies arrived. The victim sustained injuries to the head and neck, resulting in the victim seeking their own medical attention. Witnesses on scene confirmed the victim’s recollection of the assault. The assault was also captured on the victim’s GoPro camera, which was subsequently released to deputies.”

The sheriff’s office said it issued an arrest warrant for second-degree assault and third-degree assault on April 17. Lesh turned himself in on Monday and has since been released.

Last year, Lesh was sentenced to 160 hour of community service and a $10,000 fine for taking a snowmobile off route on federal land and riding it over the jumps at Keystone Resort. Despite repeated calls for jail time, the judge refused, stating that he was “loath to incarcerate somebody for a petty offense of this nature,” according to a report by The Aspen Times.

Federal charges linked to Lesh’s Hanging Lake and Maroon Lake photos were dropped.

Lesh has been featured in a New Yorker profile for his antics, entitled “Trolling the Great Outdoors.”

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