A woman accused of attacking several men with a hammer in Kalispell in 2023 later received a suspended jail sentence.  

Appearing before then Judge Robert Allison in May 2024, Andrea Suzanne Gustafson, 42, pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of assault with a weapon and a misdemeanor count of assault in Flathead County District Court. But she struck a deal with prosecutors the following month that saw them file an amended charge of misdemeanor negligent endangerment.  

In exchange for a guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend Gustafson serve a suspended six-month stint in the county jail.  

Allison stuck to the terms of the deal at Gustafson's June 24, 2024 sentencing, giving her credit for three days of time served along with the suspended sentence.  

Investigators accused Gustafson of joining another woman who was savaging a parked vehicle on McDermott Lane with a baseball bat. Armed with a hammer, Gustafson began swinging it at one or two men on the property, according to court documents. She allegedly struck one of them, leaving him with a small red abrasion on the upper left rib area.  

When one of the other men involved tried to disarm her, Gustafson bite his forearm, court documents said.  

She eventually hopped into a nearby vehicle and rammed a parked vehicle before driving off, court documents alleged.  

Speaking with Flathead County Sheriff's Office deputies afterward, Gustafson allegedly admitted to trying to hit one of the men but said she was unaware she was clutching a hammer. She later acknowledged wielding the hammer, but told deputies she thought she missed, according to court documents. 

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