Three face charges of assault
Jesse Davis | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 11 years, 4 months AGO
A trio of men have been charged for an alleged brutal assault of another man at the Ferndale Market on the Fourth of July.
Andrew Taylor Nelson, Ryan Horn and Gaige Christopher Mower are charged with felony aggravated assault, while Nelson also faces a felony charge of assault with a weapon for allegedly hitting the victim, Antonio Valencia, with a golf club until it broke.
According to a court document, Flathead County deputies were dispatched to the market on the Fourth of July, where they spoke with several witnesses, one of whom provided a cellphone video, before contacting Valencia at his home.
The deputies said Valencia was injured and was taken by ambulance to Kalispell Regional Medical Center.
Among Valencia’s injuries is a fractured vertebra in his neck, according to his brother Thomas.
Valencia said he had been driving home to Ferndale when he was tailgated by a green Subaru, which was joined by another vehicle after some road rage incident involving Valencia and the Subaru’s occupants. Valencia said he pulled into the market because he was afraid and knew there would be other people there.
The document states that as soon as Valencia got out of his vehicle, he was approached by three men — later identified as Nelson, Horn and Mower — plus a fourth person from the second tailing vehicle.
Nelson, Horn, and Mower allegedly attacked Valencia immediately. Nelson allegedly hit Valencia multiple times with a golf club, breaking the club in the process, while Horn and Mower are accused of punching and kicking him.
In addition to the cellphone video, surveillance footage from the market was obtained by deputies.
Horn reportedly admitted his role in the assault, confirming that Nelson had a golf club in his hand when he got out of the vehicle. Nelson also admitted having the club and swinging it at Valencia, hitting him several times.
If convicted of their charges, Mower and Horn each face between two and 20 years in prison and fines fine of up to $20,000, while Nelson faces between two and 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
Nelson and Horn are currently incarcerated in the Flathead County Detention Center, where their bonds are set at $50,000 and $30,000, respectively. Horn turned himself in Monday afternoon.
A $30,000 warrant has been issued for Mower’s arrest, but he had not yet been apprehended as of Tuesday afternoon.
No arraignment hearing has yet been scheduled for the trio.