David Lesh Faces Fine & Community Service For Independence Pass Stunt
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (CBS4) - David Lesh, who posted a controversial photo on social media last week, has been his consequence for a separate, previous controversy. Lesh was caught riding a snowmobile on off-limits train on Independence Pass on July 3, 2019.
He was charged in U.S. District Court. During a virtual hearing in federal court out of Grand Junction on Tuesday, a judge ordered Lesh to pay $500 and serve 50 hours of community service, according to KREX.
His lawyer argued the timeframe of completing those hours given the coronavirus pandemic. The judge pushed the deadline to Sept. 15.
Lesh owns Virtika, an outdoor clothing company in Denver. The company shared a picture of Lesh walking on the log in the middle of Hanging Lake, which is prohibited due to its sensitive nature.
It is unclear whether Lesh will face punishment, and if so, to what degree.
That post was removed over the weekend. The USFS tells CBS4 they have heard from many people upset about the Hanging Lake picture and other social media posts.
In April of 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic and stay-at-home orders, Lesh was accused of trespassing at Keystone Resort after he posted a picture of himself snowmobiling on jumps, the Summit Daily reports.
In August of 2019, Lesh crashed a plane in the Pacific Ocean. He recorded the rescue and posted it to his social media pages. He had a passenger whom he was on a photo shoot with.
(credit: CBS)
