Two teens arrested in brutal school assault

The Daily Inter Lake

Two Whitefish teens are facing felony aggravated assault charges in connection with a Wednesday afternoon fight outside Whitefish High School.

Prosecutors allege Joseph Wayne Goetsch, 18, and Zachary Robert Watson, 16, attacked a 16-year-old student in the parking lot, severely beating him.

Watson, who was taken into custody Wednesday on the bus ride home from school, is charged as an adult, according to the Flathead County Attorney's Office.

Goetsch, who already had left school in his car, turned himself in at the police station soon after the alleged attack was called in to authorities at about 3:45 p.m., Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial said.

According to court documents, one witness reported seeing Watson tackle the alleged victim and then punch him.

Another witness told investigators Goetsch kicked the boy in the stomach and punched him in the mouth, knocking out his teeth. Yet another witness said the alleged victim was pinned to the ground while the beating occurred.

Investigators believe the attack was in retaliation for an earlier altercation involving the alleged victim and a friend of the defendants, Dial said. Goetsch, however, did not admit to police that the assault was retaliatory, he added.

The alleged victim, who briefly lost consciousness, suffered blunt head trauma, cuts and a concussion. He was taken via ambulance to North Valley Hospital.

A conviction for aggravated assault carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. Goetsch and Watson, who will appear in Flathead County District Court, have yet to be arraigned.