Hot Springs man accused of hitting girlfriend and child
The specter of methamphetamine use can be found nearly anywhere and Hot Springs is no exception.
A resident of the small town, Dalton M. McFarland, is facing a slew of charges after a recent incident there.
According to court documents, McFarland was charged with aggravated assault, child endangerment, both felonies, and two misdemeanor counts of partner or family member assault and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Sanders County Attorney Naomi Leisz, a woman told Hot Springs Police Chief Eric Pfleger that she had driven a 30-year-old woman, the victim, to the Hot Springs Clinic. The witness said she had stopped by the victim’s residence for a visit. The woman said she was the victim’s aunt and when she stopped to see her niece, she was covered in blood.
The aunt also said the victim was “not acting right’ and the front door was wide open, which was alarming because it was very cold.
The aunt then took her niece and the woman’s 5-year-old child to the Clinic.
The next day, Jan. 17, 2020, the owner of the RV park where the victim lived stopped and asked her what happened. She allegedly said her boyfriend had kicked a door into her head when she was standing behind it. The owner said he saw several occasions of the victim and McFarland fighting and arguing in front of their 5-year-old daughter.
Chief Pfleger then interviewed McFarland Jan. 26, 20202, and the accused allegedly said on the morning his girlfriend was hurt, he was mad and took his aggression out by punching and breaking a mirror in the camp trailer. According to the court document, McFarland also said he knew that his young daughter saw him break the mirror and it scared her.
McFarland went on to say that he was trying to hug the mother and the daughter when he inadvertently struck the child. He allegedly said when he went through the door he did so harder than he would have and twhen the door hit the victim and caused her to bleed profusely.
McFarland then reported his girlfriend refused to get treatment and he went to a friend’s home.
Clark Fork Valley Hospital medical reports indicate the victim suffered a traumatic injury to her head, a cut on her face and a concussion. The victim needed 11 stitches for the cut on her forehead and three stitches for a cut above her lip.
Jan. 18, a man called the Hot Springs Police and reported the 5-year-old child said McFarland had hit her Jan. 16. It resulted in a bloody nose and the child couldn’t go to school.
When Chief Pfleger interviewed McFarland again on Jan. 26, the accused man said he and the victim were using methamphetamine. McFarland allegedly said he and the victim were “clean” for about three or four months before starting to use the drug again in June 2019.
On Feb. 11, the chief received a call about a fight between McFarland and his girlfriend. She was bleeding from her forehead. She said the stitches were recently removed and McFarland hit her on the forehead with a ball cap.
The chief said the victim refused medical help and he believed she was either under the influence or suffering withdrawal symptoms.
He then arrested McFarland, who allegedly said he was trying to hug the victim when her when she was re-injured.
Hot Springs Police Officer Logan Martin then spoke with a Sanders County Child Protective Specialist worker on Feb. 14 about the removal of the child from the home of McFarland, her father, and her mother. The worker said a hair follicle test on the child showed she tested positive for exposure to methamphetamine.
McFarland pleaded not guilty to the charges March 3. He remains in the Sanders County Jail on $50,000 bail.
McFarland, if convicted of all counts, faces a total of 27 years, six months in custody. His trial is scheduled for the Aug. 6 court term.