Local man sentenced to probation for stabbing brother

Jesse A. Salmonson of Havre was sentenced to five years probation Monday in state District Court in Havre for stabbing his brother during a 2015 New Year's Eve fight.

State District Judge Dan Boucher imposed on Salmonson a five-year deferred imposition of sentence for a felony charge of assault with a weapon and ordered him to pay $500 on assigned counsel within three years. If Salmonson, born in 1988, abides by the conditions of his sentence, he can have the conviction struck off his record.

Salmonson pleaded guilty in a plea agreement.

Havre Police Department received a call around 9 p.m. Dec. 31, 2015, from a man who said he had been stabbed, court documents say. Officers arrived on the scene and found the man who made the call running away. The man, Patrick Riggins, dropped a knife while running away.

After he was caught, Riggins told officers the knife he dropped was used by his brother, Salmonson, to stab him, the documents say.

Officers went to the apartment where the incident happened. They found Salmonson, two witnesses, and traces of blood in the living and bedroom areas. Court documents say officers noticed that Salmonson’s face was bleeding.

Both men were taken to Northern Montana Hospital, where Salmonson admitted he stabbed his brother, adding it was his turn because his brother had stabbed him in the past, the documents say.

Officers said they saw lacerations on Riggins’ stomach, superficial cuts on his left side, and what appeared to be a stab wound on his left shoulder.

The two witnesses were taken to the police station for questioning.

The two witnesses told officers they were with Riggins and Salmonson at a Seventh Street apartment when Salmonson began making antagonizing comments to Riggins. Salmonson kept making comments until Riggins “came out of his seat and grabbed Salmonson by his neck and pushed him into the bedroom, where they went to the floor,” the documents say. While on top of him, Riggins struck Salmonson in the face repeatedly until one of the witnesses separated the two.

As the witnesses were walking out of the room with Riggins, Salmonson grabbed a knife off the table and thrust the knife at Riggins, stabbing his left shoulder area.

At this point, witnesses said, the three went to the ground, with Riggins trying to take the knife away from Salmonson. The other witness then intervened and stopped the fight. Riggins stood up and said he had been stabbed in the lung. He then fled and called the police.

Riggins was sentenced in March to three years probation for the incident.