SANDPOINT — A man charged in a domestic violence incident has been sentenced seven years in prison for an altercation that occurred late last year.  

Darius Slaughter, 29, pleaded guilty by Alford plea May 23 to one count of attempted strangulation in front of a child and one count of injury to child. As part of a pretrial settlement agreement, charges of battery, false imprisonment and providing false information to law enforcement were dropped.  

Slaughter was sentenced to seven total years in jail — three determinate, four indeterminate — as requested by deputy prosecutor Sarah Hyde. He will get 220 days credit for time served.

Hyde backed up the requested sentence through evidence of Slaughter’s lack of accountability throughout the entire court process. 

“He’s created an alternate reality that he is the victim,” said Hyde before diving into his history and jail records.  

She further shared the family support Slaughter has, several of whom wrote letters of support on his “heart of gold” and love for helping others. Hyde noted jail calls between Slaughter and family members, where they shared similar feelings of his proclaimed innocence.  

“He’s multiple things at once,” said Hyde. “His family sees different of him than who’s in front of the court.”  

Hyde touched on Slaughter’s past, which is sprinkled with a variety of charges, arrests and law enforcement contact, some related to domestic violence, throughout Arkansas, Colorado and now Idaho. She further shared that he’s flunked or been kicked out of several recovery programs for lack of attendance and follow-through.  

“Data shows that strangulation is not a first violence offense,” said Hyde. “How many chances does he get before he listens to his music?” 

Slaughter has similar charges against him in Colorado for attempting to strangle a woman, with witnesses alleging that Slaughter brutally beat the woman against her car in a “violent” matter.  

When Slaughter was given time to provide a statement, he asked the judge for mercy in his sentencing, as “she (the victim) is not the only victim in this case.” Slaughter indicated that he had no intentions of causing injuries, but that it was “three against one,” referring to the victim and two family members that came to the scene of the crime to support the woman.  

Slaughter finished his statements with tears in his eyes as he said, “I am loved by multiple, hated by few, and I’m okay with that.” 

District Judge Lamont Berecz favored Hyde’s sentencing request, agreeing that Slaughter was a risk to society if he were to be given probation.  

When discussing his support system, Berecz gave grace to his family and their view of Slaughter, sharing that their “support is not grounded in facts.”  

Berecz said that Slaughter continues to lie to his family about the domestic violence incident and an assault that happened at the jail, where it was noted that Slaughter told family members that he had been assaulted by two other inmates as opposed to Slaughter being caught on camera attacking another inmate from behind.  

“You have a lot of family support; you’re not someone who comes from an abusive family. This is on you,” said Berecz.   

The charges stem from December 2024 when police officials arrived at a Priest River residence to find Slaughter with a gash on his forehead and several victims who had sustained injuries.    

According to court documents, the victim came home late at night, where she and Slaughter got into a verbal altercation. As the argument escalated, the woman went into her bedroom to avoid the situation getting worse. Slaughter allegedly followed her and began strangling her on the bed, increasing pressure to the point where the victim was unable to breathe or speak.   

The woman's child was at the residence at the time of the altercation, witnessing Slaughter attempt to strangle the victim.   

Although a probable cause affidavit doesn’t indicate how the victim got away from Slaughter’s grasp, it does suggest that she was able to get outside to her vehicle and call her aunt. When her aunt and cousin arrived to help, court documents indicate that they were struck in the face by Slaughter. The court documents contend that the aunt, acting in self-defense, smacked Slaughter in the head with a baseball bat before police arrived at the scene. 

Slaughter, while police investigated the scene, was later noted as screaming at the woman and her family, stating that he “ought to kill these [women].”