SANDPOINT — A Priest River man is set to change his plea May 23 on domestic violence charges that stem from an incident in late December.  

Darius Slaughter, 29, faces a felony charge of attempted strangulation, a misdemeanor charge of providing false information to law enforcement, a misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment, a misdemeanor battery charge and a misdemeanor charge of injury to a child. 

At a May 9 pretrial conference, Slaughter's defense counsel told District Court Judge Lamont Berecz that a resolution in the case had been reached between the defense and the state. As a result, the court trial set for May 14 was vacated. Instead, a change of plea hearing will take place.  

It is unknown what charges Slaughter will plead guilty to as part of a pretrial deal.  

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 a probable cause affidavit, the victim came home late at night, where she and Slaughter got into a verbal altercation. To deescalate the situation, the victim went into her bedroom, to which Slaughter allegedly followed her and began to strangle her on the bed.  

Court documents allege that Slaughter “increased pressure on his squeeze to the point where (she) could not make a sound or breathe anymore.” Documents also indicated two young children in the home at the time, one of whom opened the door while Slaughter was allegedly strangling 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 allegedly 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 was later arrested after receiving medical attention.