Suspect in strangulation case accused of violating terms of release

A Columbia Falls man awaiting sentencing on a felony criminal endangerment charge is back behind bars after allegedly violating the terms of his release from custody. 

Jordan John James Patterson, 28, was booked into the Flathead County Detention Center on Dec. 12 after allegedly skipping out on a Nov. 17 appointment to receive a drug patch. He was ordered released with the drug monitoring stipulation following a Nov. 3 change of plea hearing before Judge Heidi Ulbricht in Flathead County District Court. 

Prosecutors initially brought Patterson up on a single count of felony strangulation of a partner or family member after his June 9 arrest by Flathead County Sheriff’s Office deputies. According to court documents, authorities headed to a First Street home in Columbia Falls about 1:42 a.m. for a report of a disturbance involving Patterson and his girlfriend. 

The victim told deputies that Patterson accused her of cheating before hitting her and putting his hands around her neck, court documents said. She reported struggling to breathe with his hands around her. 

Investigators noted that the victim’s face sported cuts and dried blood, and was discolored, according to court documents. 

Patterson allegedly admitted to getting into a fight with the victim when authorities caught up to him, court documents said. 

He pleaded not guilty to the felony charge at his June 29 arraignment, but struck a plea deal with prosecutors in early November. In exchange for a guilty plea to felony criminal endangerment, prosecutors agreed to recommend he serve a suspended five-year sentence with the state Department of Corrections. 

On Nov. 3, he withdrew his not guilty plea and pleaded guilty to the amended charge, according to court records. Ulbricht set sentencing for Dec. 21.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.