Martin City man earns suspended sentence after taking plea deal

A Martin City man arrested after allegedly dragging a man down a Columbia Falls street in March earned a suspended one-year sentence in Flathead County District Court last month.

Initially brought up on a felony charge, 35-year-old Wayne Robert Armstrong pleaded guilty to misdemeanor negligent endangerment Sept. 7 after striking a deal with prosecutors. In exchange for the change of plea to the amended charge, prosecutors agreed to recommend he receive the suspended sentence to the Flathead County Detention Center and pay a $185 fine.

Handing down the sentence that same day in Flathead County District Court, Judge Danni Coffman stuck to the terms of the agreement. She gave Armstrong credit for 160 days of time served and ordered the suspended sentence to run concurrently to his sentence on a 2017 felony criminal endangerment conviction. Armstrong pleaded no contest to the charge in that case.

Deputies with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office tracked Armstrong down after a man alleged Armstrong dragged him down a city street in Columbia Falls on March 31, court documents said. The victim told investigators that he saw Armstrong back his Ford F-150 into a parked vehicle and confronted him, afraid Armstrong planned on fleeing.

During the ensuing confrontation, the victim said he was forced to jump out of the way to avoid the pickup hitting him and had to cling to the steering wheel. Armstrong sped up, reaching a speed of nearly 40 mph, and told the victim to “let go or you’re going to die,” court documents said.

The victim eventually jumped to safety, according to court documents. Witnesses interviewed by investigators corroborated his account.

Armed with the license plate information handed over by the victim, authorities initially tried Armstrong’s home, but he was out of the house. They eventually found him at a bar in Marion, court documents said.

Allegedly acknowledging the confrontation, Armstrong denied any wrongdoing, according to court documents.

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