Man pleads not guilty to assault

A 47-year-old Kalispell man pleaded not guilty Thursday in Flathead District Court to felony charges of failure to register as a violent offender and partner or family member assault.

Ronnie Arthur is accused of assaulting a woman on July 21 after an argument following a night of drinking.

According to a court document, the woman called police after the alleged assault, of which she remembered very little. She told police they had decided to drink and then got in an argument about her dog, and the last thing she remembered was Arthur choking her.

The document stated what she didn’t remember was him hitting her in the face, giving her a black eye, knocking her dentures out or receiving numerous bruises, all of which were apparent after the fact.

When approached by police, Arthur allegedly claimed he was only defending himself and had some minor scratches, but no injuries nearly as serious as those sustained by the alleged victim. It was determined that Arthur was a registered violent offender and had not complied by updating his address, and he was arrested.

According to the court document, Arthur has previous convictions for partner or family member assault from September 1994, March 1997 and March 2006 as well as a conviction for aggravated assault with domestic abuse in July 1997.

If convicted on both charges, Arthur faces between 30 days and 10 years in jail and a fine of between $500 and $60,000.

His next hearing is scheduled for Sept. 19.