Woman suspected of biting, attacking men with hammer facing charges
Andrea Suzanne Gustafson. (Photo courtesy the Flathead County Sheriff's Office)
A 41-year-old woman accused of attacking several men with a hammer and biting one of them during a confrontation in Kalispell last June is facing multiple charges in Flathead County District Court.
Prosecutors filed felony assault with a weapon and misdemeanor assault charges against Andrea Suzanne Gustafson of Kalispell in September, but the 41-year-old was only booked into the county jail March 30. Released on her own recognizance April 1, Gustafson is expected to appear before Judge Robert Allison on May 2 for her arraignment.
Authorities headed to McDermott Lane for reports of a disturbance about 4:52 p.m., June 20, according to court documents. Victims and witnesses said the confrontation began with a woman wielding a bat and acting irate. The woman made her way to a parked vehicle and began hitting it with the bat, court documents said.
A second woman, later identified as Gustafson, joined the fracas armed with a hammer soon after, court documents alleged. She swung it at one or two men on the property, striking one of them, court documents said. The man on the receiving end of the hammer was left with a small red abrasion on the upper left rib area, according to court documents.
When one of the intended targets intervened, grabbing the hammer in an attempt to disarm her, Gustafson allegedly clamped down on his forearm with her teeth. He told investigators that he yanked on her hair to eventually dislodge her.
Gustafson allegedly then hopped into a waiting Toyota and rammed a nearby parked vehicle before driving away.
When deputies with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office caught up with her, Gustafson admitted to trying to hit one of the men, but said she was unaware of the hammer allegedly in her hand, court documents said. She later allegedly admitted to swinging the hammer, but thought she missed.
Felony assault with a weapon is punishable by up to 20 years in Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine. Misdemeanor assault carries a maximum penalty of six months in the county jail and a $500 fine.
News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.