A felony charge of attempted strangulation has been dismissed against a Hailey man who was accused of choking his wife during a domestic altercation earlier this month.
Twenty-three-year-old Donald Lee Stout II still faces a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery and was being held in the Blaine County Jail Tuesday in lieu of posting $3,000 bond.
The attempted strangulation charge was dismissed in Blaine County Magistrate Court on April 10 by Judge Michael Redman, whose ruling came at the close of a preliminary hearing to determine if there was sufficient evidence to order that Stout's case be transferred to 5th District Court for trial.
Redman also dismissed misdemeanor charges against Stout of "malicious injury to property" and "intentional destruction of a telecommunications line."
The case against Stout started the evening of April 3 when Stout and his wife Kelli allegedly got into a fight at their home on east Croy Street.
Hailey police officer Jameson Sharp reported in a probable cause affidavit that officers investigated the situation and were told by Kelli Stout "that Donald grabbed her by the neck and choked her." Sharp further reported that Kelli Stout told officers that her husband "head-butted her" and held her "down on the ground and poked her in the chest." Donald Stout also allegedly "ripped the telephone out of the wall" when his wife threatened to call police.
Sharp reported that there were red marks on Kelli Stout's neck, but Donald Stout denied choking his wife and said that the "red marks on her neck came from the two of them ruffhousing in bed."
At the April 10 preliminary hearing, Kelli Stout testified that her husband had placed his hands on her throat but said she was uncertain how she got the red marks on her neck.
According to a minutes report of the hearing, Kelli Stout "could not say for sure that the marks were from her husband and not from the couch or some other contact." The minutes report further says that "she did not want to press charges against her husband, and that she told the police that at the time they arrested" him.
Redman dismissed the attempted strangulation charge, ruling that the evidence was insufficient, but ordered that Donald Stout still face the charge of domestic battery, an offense in Idaho that is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Attempted strangulation in Idaho is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $50,000.
"The court urged the defendant to work on saving his relationship with his wife and to find different ways to address stress and conflict," the minutes report says.
No further court proceedings have been scheduled as of Monday. Donald Stout is represented by public defender Douglas Werth.
Redman has been lately presiding over some Blaine County criminal cases when Magistrate R. Ted Israel is not available.
Donald Lee Stout II
