A Nevada man with ties to the Flathead Valley is facing a felony charge related to the brutal beating of a man near Glacier Park International Airport more than a year ago.  

Prosecutors filed one count of aggravated assault against 28-year-old Ethan Alexander Dreesman in Flathead County District Court on June 24. A warrant for his arrest was issued on June 30 and he was booked into county jail on July 29.  

Dreesman, who remains behind bars with bail set at $75,000, pleaded not guilty at his Aug. 6 arraignment before Judge Dani Coffman.  

Using DNA evidence, investigators believe that Dreesman was the assailant in a July 25, 2025 beating near the intersection of U.S. 2 and Airport Frontage Road, according to court documents. The attack, which was reported by passing motorists about 5:22 p.m., ended with the victim bleeding on the pavement, which is where responding Flathead County Sheriff's Office deputies found him.  

The victim was later airlifted to the neurological unit in Billings with a traumatic brain injury and several broken facial bones. He spent several days in a coma, court documents said.  

While the victim lost all memory of the attack, witnesses described his assailant as wearing a sleeveless black T-shirt and driving off in a silver or gray Jeep.  

Grabbing surveillance footage from nearby businesses, deputies found the Jeep parked at a nearby hotel shortly before the attack. The recording showed a man in a black Nike shirt hop in before driving off toward the intersection of U.S. 2 and Airport Frontage Road.  

Cameras at a second business captured the victim brake-check the Jeep while driving along Airport Frontage Road. The maneuver led to a collision, court documents said.  

Both men got out of their vehicles and the victim was quickly dropped to the ground. The video showed the attacker raining punches down on the victim before getting back into his Jeep and driving off, according to court documents.  

A tipster alerted deputies on July 25, 2025 to a vehicle matching the description of the Jeep at a business in Kalispell. That's when deputies met Dreesman, court documents said. He allegedly acknowledged owning the Jeep, but denied driving near the airport.  

Another tipster sent Sheriff's Office detectives photographs of Dreesman sitting in the Jeep wearing a sleeveless black T-shirt in August. Armed with a search warrant, investigators seized Dreesman's Jeep and recovered a black sleeveless Nike T-shirt from the vehicle, court documents said.  

Authorities later sent the shirt — along with DNA samples from both Dreesman and the victim — to the Montana State Crime Lab. A June 23, 2026 report indicated that DNA collected from the shirt belonged to Dreesman, the victim and a third individual, according to court documents.   

If convicted, Dreesman faces up to 20 years behind bars and a $50,000 fine. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 406-758-4430 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.