COPPER MOUNTAIN — A 20-year-old man could go to jail for up to 2 years for throwing a snowball that hit a female acquaintance.

"I'm dumbfounded," said the man's lawyer, Lisa Moses. "I think it's a waste of time, a waste of taxpayers' time," Moses said.

Her client, Andrew Thistleton, is scheduled to go on trial Dec. 6 for third-degree assault and harassment for throwing the snowball.

The incident occurred Feb. 3 at a bus stop at Copper Mountain. According to Summit County sheriff's reports, Thistleton, an Australian citizen working at a Copper Mountain ski shop, threw a snowball that hit a co-worker, Michelle Oehlert, 22, in the side.

When Oehlert reported the incident to deputies the following day, she said Thistleton and two friends were "taunting her" just before she was hit with the snowball. She complained that the snowball "caused her pain due to a prior injury" — a car accident several years earlier.

Thistleton admitted tossing the snowball but told deputies he would be willing to apologize to Oehlert.

Deputies arrested on suspicion of assault and harassment. District Attorney Mark Hurlbert is pursuing the case.

"It's very unusual," Hurlbert said. "I can't ever remember prosecuting a case like this. It's something we need to take seriously."

Hurlbert calls the projectile an "iceball" even though police reports consistently call it a snowball.

"I feel it's a valid use of taxpayer dollars to prosecute something when someone is hurt," he said. "This is no different than any other assault. Just because someone used an iceball as opposed to a fist it certainly is appropriate use of taxpayer dollars."

A witness, Nathan Sparks, told deputies "Thistleton threw the snowball, but not in a harmful way."

If convicted, Thistleton could face 24 months in jail. His attorney ridicules the decision to pursue the case, calling it "insane."

"I grew up in Colorado," Moses said. "And thought to myself 'Wow, how many snowballs have I thrown that could result in some sort of criminal complaint on me?' You know, I ski in Summit County and what happens if you make a hard turn and spray snow and the snow gets in the eye of another skier? What's next?"

Hurlbert rejected any comparison to a friendly snowball fight, saying the victim had her back to the suspect when she was hit while standing at a bus stop.

"An assault is an assault is an assault," he said. "Whether it's done with a fist or an iceball, an assault is an assault."

Hurlbert has offered Thistleton a plea bargain: plead guilty to a petty offense with no jail time. But Moses said her client isn't interested, since a conviction could prevent Thistleton from returning to the U.S. to work or study.

She said Thistleton and his mother are back in Australia but are making plans to return to Summit County for the trial.