Richard "Rossi" Moreau makes his first appearance in an Eagle County courtroom
EAGLE, Colo. - A 63-year-old Vietnam veteran was ordered held without bond in connection with the weekend shooting at a Vail bar that left one person dead and wounded three others.
Longtime Vail resident Richard "Rossi" Moreau made his first appearance in an Eagle County courtroom Monday. He faces numerous charges, including first-degree murder, for Saturday night's shooting spree at the Sandbar Sports Grill.
Witnesses say employees were in the process of escorting Moreau from the bar for acting strangely and bothering customers when he suddenly pulled out a gun and started shooting. 70-year-old Gary Bruce Kitching of Carbondale, Colo. died from gunshot wounds to the chest, arm and thigh.
The injured victims include a 63-year-old Vail man who sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was on life support at Denver Health Medical Center Monday. A 29-year-old man was being treated at Vail Valley Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the arm, and a 25-year-old Sandbar employee who sustained a leg wound was treated and released.
Vail Police Chief Dwight Henninger said Moreau used a semi-automatic .45 caliber hand gun. Witnesses described hearing between six and 12 shots.
Henninger confirmed that Moreau was being served alcohol before the incident.
A judge set his next hearing for Dec. 1.
In a 2006 interview in the Vail Daily newspaper, Moreau said he has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since 1979 after serving two tours of duty in Vietnam in the late '60s.
Pat Hammon, community service officer for the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10721, told the newspaper that Moreau was not a member of the post but has participated in veterans' events with the group over the years, including the annual Fourth of July parade in Vail.
"Rossi was a very likable guy in very many ways," Hammon said "He was a lot of fun and a great skier and had a great love for Vail. But Rossi had a lot of problems. He had his demons he was working with."
Longtime Vail resident Richard "Rossi" Moreau made his first appearance in an Eagle County courtroom Monday. He faces numerous charges, including first-degree murder, for Saturday night's shooting spree at the Sandbar Sports Grill.
Witnesses say employees were in the process of escorting Moreau from the bar for acting strangely and bothering customers when he suddenly pulled out a gun and started shooting. 70-year-old Gary Bruce Kitching of Carbondale, Colo. died from gunshot wounds to the chest, arm and thigh.
The injured victims include a 63-year-old Vail man who sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was on life support at Denver Health Medical Center Monday. A 29-year-old man was being treated at Vail Valley Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the arm, and a 25-year-old Sandbar employee who sustained a leg wound was treated and released.
Vail Police Chief Dwight Henninger said Moreau used a semi-automatic .45 caliber hand gun. Witnesses described hearing between six and 12 shots.
Henninger confirmed that Moreau was being served alcohol before the incident.
A judge set his next hearing for Dec. 1.
In a 2006 interview in the Vail Daily newspaper, Moreau said he has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder since 1979 after serving two tours of duty in Vietnam in the late '60s.
Pat Hammon, community service officer for the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10721, told the newspaper that Moreau was not a member of the post but has participated in veterans' events with the group over the years, including the annual Fourth of July parade in Vail.
"Rossi was a very likable guy in very many ways," Hammon said "He was a lot of fun and a great skier and had a great love for Vail. But Rossi had a lot of problems. He had his demons he was working with."
