A discussion about finances turned bloody last month after a Columbia Falls man allegedly grabbed a bat and beat two other men, sending both of them to the hospital.
Todd Louis Pajnich has been charged with two counts of felony assault with a weapon stemming from the Oct. 27 incident. Pajnich pleaded not guilty in Flathead County District Court on Nov. 6.
According to court documents, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a disturbance at 290 Steeles Drive in Columbia Falls on Oct. 27. A deputy found two men who were bloodied at the Columbia Falls Town Pump gas station. The men told the officer that they were talking with Pajnich about finances when an argument broke out and then he grabbed a bat and started hitting them. Both men were taken to North Valley Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The deputy went to the home where the alleged altercation occurred and talked with Pajnich, who acknowledged that there was an argument.
If convicted, Pajnich could face up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.