Man sentenced for assault with frying pan

 A Kalispell man has received a deferred sentence after pleading guilty to felony criminal endangerment.

Steven Bell, 41, originally was charged with felony assault with a weapon for allegedly attacking a 15-year-old boy with a frying pan in January 2011.

A court document alleged Bell hit the boy in the knee and the neck with the pan while trying to get the boy and his friend to go to bed following a church sledding party.

Bell allegedly bent the handle of the pan during the attack. The boy was later taken to a doctor, who felt welts on the boy’s shin, the back of his neck and the back of his head.

District Judge David Ortley handed down a three-year deferred sentence for Bell along with a $500 fine and an $800 public defender fee during his May 23 sentencing.