Affidavit: Deputy arrested last week is accused of beating girlfriend while drunk

A Pueblo County Sheriff's Office deputy arrested last week is accused of punching his girlfriend repeatedly, according to an affidavit calling for warrantless arrest by Pueblo Police Department.

Donald Edward Teschner, 38, was arrested Dec. 20. He currently faces one misdemeanor harassment charge related to striking, shoving or kicking an individual, according to online court records. Teschner is the son of late PCSO Detention Bureau Chief Jeff Teschner.

Donald Teschner's girlfriend told police the couple was leaving the Sunset Inn when they began to fight, according to arrest documents.

She told police Teschner jumped out of the vehicle the two were in near the intersection of Prairie and St. Clair avenues. A Pueblo police officer briefly stopped, she told police, and Teschner left, walking away while she drove to her home on Baylor Street.

The woman told police she briefly returned to the area of Prairie and Amherst Avenue to get Teschner to come with her. Teschner did get into her vehicle, she told police, but she said he punched her repeatedly in the face with a closed fist.

The affidavit said she had marks on her face consistent with being struck. An officer also observed cuts on her knuckles, which she stated she sustained from attempting to block her face from blows.

She stated that she and Teschner had been dating for approximately a year and live together.

Teschner's girlfriend said that prior to the incident, Teschner had been cut off by a bartender at Sunset Inn while becoming increasingly hostile. He was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the incident.

Once contacted and detained by police, Teschner told them his girlfriend had told him to get out of the vehicle, so he did, walking southbound from Prairie and St. Clair along North Prairie Avenue. Then he said he was approached by a vehicle.

Teschner stated the occupants were talking trash to him, so he challenged them to fight. According to Teschner, a male exited the vehicle and the two got into a physical altercation before the man got back into the vehicle. Teschner said the vehicle drove off before making a U-turn and coming back, with a different man getting out to fight Teschner.

Teschner told police that after that, he went back to his home on Baylor Street and noticed it was locked. He said he texted his girlfriend, who told him she was calling the police.

According to the affidavit, when officers explained that Teschner would be taken to the Pueblo County Jail, his girlfriend said she wanted to drop charges and expressed concern Teschner would harm himself upon his release.

When informed that domestic violence was a mandatory arrest under Colorado State law, she told officers she no longer wanted to speak to them, according to the affidavit.

Teschner has been placed on paid administrative leave during the course of the investigation, sheriff's office spokesperson Gayle Perez said previously.

This is not Teschner's first run-in with Pueblo police. In March 2019, Teschner was arrested on charges of false imprisonment, harassment and domestic violence, and arrested again later that month on charges of being drunk with a firearm. On June 19 of that year he was given a deferred sentence to be dismissed on successful completion of probation, according to 10th Judicial District Attorney Jeff Chostner. He also pleaded guilty on that date to being drunk with a firearm, and all others charges from that incident were dismissed. He successfully completed probation and probation was terminated early on May 4, 2020, said Chostner. Chostner noted that the DA's office had not asked that he be given probation.

Perez declined to comment on any aspect of Teschner's previous service record, including disciplinary records.

Help for people in crisis

If you or someone you care about is in a domestic violence situation, call the 24/7 crisis hotline for YWCA of Pueblo Domestic Violence Services at 719-545-8195 or the 24/7 hotline for ACOVA — A Community Organization for Victim Assistance, at 719-583-6250.

For the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, call 1-800-273-8255, or call 911.

All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in court. Arrests and charges are merely accusations by law enforcement until, and unless, a suspect is convicted of a crime.

Questions, comments, or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @jayreutter1.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Arrested Pueblo deputy accused of beating girlfriend while drunk