Abuse suspect pleads innocent to second jail attack
A Marion man awaiting trial for allegedly abusing his girlfriend's 9-month-old son has pleaded innocent to attacking a detention officer.
It's the second assault charge Shane Phillip Nickerson, 21, has accumulated since his incarceration in August.
During his arraignment Thursday in Flathead County District Court, Nickerson pleaded not guilty to attempted assault on a peace officer, a felony.
According to court documents, Nickerson initially refused commands to leave his cell after what appears to be an April 20 altercation with another inmate, then approached detention officers aggressively.
A detention officer deployed his Taser, but Nickerson ripped out one of the probes and tried to wrestle it away, prosecutors allege.
Nickerson previously was arraigned on assault on a peace officer charges in February. He pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allege three detention officers were moving Nickerson - described in court papers as "combative"- to a new cell on Jan. 14 when Nickerson pushed one of them in the chest, knocking him backwards.
The officers pushed Nickerson into the cell, but he charged the still-open door and then punched the detention officer in the torso several times, according to court papers.
After the incident, Nickerson reportedly took off his shirt and challenged the detention officer to a fight.
Nickerson has been held in the Flathead County Detention Center since August 2008. He is awaiting trial next month on charges of sexual intercourse without consent, sexual assault, aggravated assault and criminal endangerment.
According to court documents, sheriff's deputies were called to Kalispell Regional Medical Center on Aug. 9 after medical personnel found his girlfriend's child with bruises on his head, a bloody mouth, and injuries consistent with sexual abuse.
After being treated at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, the child was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital, where he was admitted with severe brain injuries from partial asphyxiation.
A second medical exam found that the boy, who has since returned to the Flathead, had suffered other injuries consistent with sexual abuse.
The child's mother later told detectives that Nickerson had volunteered to watch the child while she slept in that morning.
If convicted of all charges in the abuse case, Nickerson could face up to 230 years in prison and a $200,000 fine. A conviction for assaulting a peace officer could carry up to an additional 10 years in prison and $50,000 in fines.
Nickerson's bail is set at $250,000.
Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com