The proprietor of a late-night Whitefish taxi service has been charged with assault with a weapon after he allegedly pepper sprayed another man in January.
Charges were filed against Brian Murchie in Flathead County District Court on April 8 and a warrant for his arrest was issued on April 13.
According to court documents, the Whitefish Police Department received a report of an assault shortly after 1 a.m. on Jan. 24 at the intersection of Railway Street and Central Avenue. When officers arrived, they talked to a man who said he was leaving the Craggy Range Bar and Grill and taking photos of his girlfriend when Murchie grabbed the man, took his phone, forced him to the ground and pepper sprayed him in the face.
Murchie later told officers a different story, saying that the man had threatened him. Police found that Murchie had the other man’s cell phone in his possession.
This is not the first time Murchie has been charged with assault. In 2002, a jury found Murchie guilty of second-degree assault stemming from an incident at a Spokane, Washington bar. According to court documents, Murchie hit a man in the head with a foot-long metal flashlight. Murchie appealed the decision but it was later overruled.