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Browning Man Sentenced for Assault, Bail Jumping
A 40-year-old Browning man has been sentenced to the Department of Correc- tions a year after he knocked out his girl- friend while walking near downtown Kalispell.
Calvin Steve Spotted Eagle was sen- tenced for partner or family member assault and bail jumping in Flathead County District Court on Aug. 20. Spot- ted Eagle has been committed to the Department of Corrections for five years. He will also serve six months in the Flat- head County Detention Center for bail jumping.
According to court documents, Spot- ted Eagle and his girlfriend of five years were having an argument while walking near downtown in August 2014. As the couple crossed Washington Street, Spot- ted Eagle began to hit the woman and then punched her in the head, knocking her to the ground. The woman hit her head on the pavement and was knocked unconscious. Spotted Eagle then dragged the woman to the side of the road. The woman was later taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.
The 2014 incident was not the first time Spotted Eagle appeared in court on assault charges. He was convicted of partner or family member assault twice before, once in June 2003 and again in May 2011.
In September 2014, Spotted Eagle pleaded not guilty to the charges. A
month later he took a plea agreement and admitted that he had hit the woman. The state recommended a five-year sus- pended sentence to the Department of Corrections and he was released on his own recognizance. But in December, he failed to appear at his sentencing hear- ing and a judge signed a warrant for his arrest.
Spotted Eagle was later arrested and pleaded not guilty to bail jumping earlier this year. On Aug. 20, he changed his plea to guilty at his sentencing hearing for the assault charge.
Whitefish Man Accused of Rape
A Whitefish man has been accused of raping his girlfriend in the Whitefish High School parking lot.
Ezequiel Gonzalez appeared in Flat- head County District Court on Aug. 20 where he pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, both felonies.
According to court documents, Gonza- lez had an “on again, off again” relation- ship with the victim and raped her on two different occasions in the Whitefish High School parking lot on Aug. 2. The woman said that she did not want to have sex on either occasion and said that Gonzalez threatened her.
During the second encounter, Gonza- lez allegedly “took her to the ground” and tried to have sex with her. The woman kicked and hit him until he started to choke her, according to court records.
If convicted, Gonzalez could face up to
100 years in prison and fines of $50,000.
Flathead County Man Accused of Raping Woman
A Flathead County man is accused of drugging and raping a woman in Ever- green in July.
Damien Carey Dinelli pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual intercourse without consent in Flathead County Dis- trict Court on Aug. 20.
According to court documents, Dinelli had an extensive history with the victim and in the past had expressed interest in having a sexual relationship with her even though she rejected his advances. Dinelli was with the victim on July 26 when they went to a Kalispell grocery store where they purchased a sport drink. The woman had Dinelli hold the drink while she went to the bathroom and then took it back when she returned.
The victim reported that she felt ill soon after taking the drink back and the next thing she remembers was waking up naked in an abandoned trailer. The woman went to Kalispell Regional Med- ical Center where nurses found evidence of sexual assault on her body.
This is not the first time Dinelli has been accused of assault. According to court records, Dinelli is a convicted sex- ual offender in Washington and is await- ing sentencing there. If convicted, Dinelli could face up to 100 years in prison and a fine of $50,000.
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AUGUST 26, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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