A Columbia Falls man accused of beating his girlfriend and threatening her with a gun in the parking lot of a Kalispell shopping plaza in October saw a felony charge filed against him dismissed last week. 

Levi Grayden Petersen, 21, initially faced one count of assault with a weapon in Flathead County District Court following the alleged Oct. 14 confrontation in the Hutton Ranch area.  

But on Dec. 14, Deputy County Attorney Stacy Boman filed a motion to dismiss, writing that the move was “consistent with the wishes of the victim in this matter and in the interest of justice.” Judge Amy Eddy ordered the case dismissed the following day. 

According to court documents, authorities began investigating Petersen after his girlfriend told them that an Oct. 14 disagreement in her car turned violent. She alleged that Petersen hit her before warning her against contacting the police while putting a hand on a gun he kept in his bag, court documents said. 

Petersen had pleaded not guilty to the felony before Eddy at his Nov. 16 arraignment.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected].