Tim Leeds Havre Daily News tleeds@havredailynews.com
After a two-day trial in state District Court in Havre, a jury found Brian H. Allen of Havre, born in 1972, guilty of three felony charges and innocent of two others, with a trial for another felony charge of assault with a weapon scheduled for Jan. 14. The jury deliberated nearly three hours after the trial, which started Monday. It found Allen guilty of two felony charges of assault with a weapon for beating Louis Escobedo about the head with a pistol and threatening him with the pistol, and one felony charge of criminal endangerment for discharging the weapon through the back window of a car while in a residential neighborhood. The jury acquitted Allen of a felony charge of assault with a weapon alleging he threatened, Kristin Golie, the driver of the car he was in at the time, with the pistol, and of a felony charge of intimidation alleging he repeatedly threatened her if she told law enforcement about the incident. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 12. State law allows Allen to be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine on each of the assault charges and up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine for the criminal endangerment offense. Allen remained in the Hill County Detention Center this morning on $250,000 bond. The trial had a lengthy list of witnesses who testified, including Escobedo, Golie, several Havre police officers including the chief and assistant chief of police, and Allen himself. According to a court document, Allen was charged on Feb. 26 after he was accused on Jan. 27 of beating Escobedo with a pistol, threatening to kill him unless he paid back a debt, threatening Golie and shooting out the back of the car’s window. The charge of intimidation was filed Feb. 29, alleging that Allen had repeatedly threatened Golie not to tell anyone about the incident both the night of the incident and for nearly a month after. According to the document, Allen called Golie and asked for a ride from a local tavern to a Havre residence so he could collect a debt. When they arrived at the residence, Allen knocked on the door and immediately pointed a gun at Escobedo when he came out, forcing him to get into the car and then hitting him with the pistol as he demanded $250 for a tattoo gun he had sold Escobedo. At one point the pistol discharged, breaking the back window of the vehicle, the document said. According to the document, Golie argued with Allen to let Escobedo go, and finally drove him away after he released Escobedo. She also reported that he had called her repeatedly in the weeks following the incident, threatening her if she talked about the incident. Escobedo also told police that a few weeks before Jan. 27 his hand had been cut when Allen shook his hand while holding a knife, the document said. The victim said he thought at first it was An accident but later decided Allen had cut his hand intentionally, the document said. The assault with a weapon charge stemming from that accusation was severed from the other charges in the case, and will be presented in the Jan. 14 trial.
