Flathead man pleads guilty to assaulting wife
A Flathead man is facing prison time after pleading guilty to assaulting his wife during a argument earlier this fall at a Columbia Falls residence.
Dyllon Scott Meehan pleaded guilty to three felony counts Oct. 26, in relation to the assault that occurred Sept. 5 at home located on Montana 40. He pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon, partner or family member assault and burglary. A charge of assault with a weapon against another man who was present at the residence was dropped.
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Meehan will be sentenced in Flathead District Court to a total of 15 years, 10 suspended, in a Montana Department of Corrections facility. A sentencing date hasn’t been set yet.
According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, the victim, Meehan’s wife, called 911 saying she was on her way to North Valley Hospital after her husband assaulted her.
When members of the Sheriff’s Office spoke to her, they noticed a significant injury to her eye. She told them Meehan wasn’t allowed to be at the residence, given the significant number of times he has assaulted her.
On the day of the assault, she returned home and found Meehan sleeping on the couch. When she told him to leave, he grabbed her by the hair and hit her head into things and grabbed her phone so she couldn’t call for help, the complaint said.
She said he then threw a glass lotion bottle at her and it struck her in the eye. She said she was huddled up on the floor as Meehan continued to kick and push her.
When officers tried to find Meehan, he couldn’t be located at the victim’s residence. When the victim showed an officer a laptop computer, it revealed Meehan had been communicating with an ex-girlfriend inside the residence and wanted her to come pick him up. The messages indicated the ex-girlfriend did pick Meehan up after officers had left the area.
Later on the day of Sept. 5, deputies were called back to the victim’s residence for another assault. When the spoke to her for the second time that day, the victim said Meehan had returned and appeared to be very agitated. When she told him he wasn’t welcome there, he pushed an air conditioner through the window and crawled into the home. They argued and he pushed her, according to the complaint.
Another man who was in the house tried to defuse the situation, but Meehan hit him and head-butted him in the face, leaving the man with a swollen eye. The man was able to pin Meehan down on a couch, but Meehan pulled a knife on him and tried to stab him. When a neighbor heard the fight and entered the home, Meehan left the residence.
When deputies later arrested Meehan, he had three knives with him.
Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.