Assailant who shattered man's face sentenced

A 40-year-old Whitefish man was given a three-year suspended sentence Sept. 13 in Flathead District Court after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of felony criminal endangerment.

Justin Maddock originally was charged with felony aggravated assault after nearly striking two pedestrians while crossing the intersection of Central Avenue and Second Street in Whitefish at high speed late at night on April 10.

Maddock’s original charge stemmed from the allegation that when witnesses confronted him, he started swinging his arms into the crowd, eventually striking a man in the side of the face, “causing it to cave in,” according to a court document.

The victim required surgery to reconstruct four bones in his face around his orbital socket with two titanium plates, eight screws and 20 stitches.

He said he was advised by his doctor that there was no guarantee the nerves would regenerate and return feeling to the left side of his face.

In addition to his suspended sentence, Maddock was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victim in the District Court case.

Maddock’s suspended sentence will run consecutively to his June 22 sentence of six months in jail, three months of house arrest and three years of probation on a federal conviction of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana.

In the federal case, he  also was ordered to pay a special assessment of $100.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Michael Durbin, 29, also of Kalispell, helped transform a property on U.S. 93 into a large marijuana grow facility and helped maintain production at that location and at Good Medicine Providers on East Reserve Drive, which Maddock helped operate.