Kalispell man makes plea deal in wife-beating case

A Kalispell man has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge after beating his wife unconscious.

Lealon Franklin III, 32, entered the plea to felony criminal endangerment Thursday in Flathead District Court after the charge was reduced from what would have been his third conviction for partner or family member assault, a felony.

Franklin testified during the hearing that everyone had been drinking heavily and things got out of hand, with him eventually attacking his wife. A court document states she suffered a laceration above her eye, several bruises on her face and around her neck and an abrasion on her shoulder.

A court document indicates Franklin pushed his wife onto the porch and repeatedly stomped on her head until she lost consciousness to the point that a witness reported it sounded like the woman was having trouble breathing.

Franklin previously was convicted of partner or family member assault in Butte-Silver Bow in 2011 and in Kalispell Municipal Court on Feb. 8 of this year. Franklin has been convicted of at least four other different felonies, each occurring on a separate occasion, including a conviction for malicious conduct by a prisoner.

In addition to the reduced charge, Franklin’s plea came as part of a deal that included the Flathead County Attorney’s Office ending its attempt to have him labeled a persistent felony offender. He is currently jailed in the Flathead County Detention Center.