A 30-year-old Washington man was arraigned Tuesday in Blaine County 5th District Court on a charge of felony domestic battery for allegedly breaking his girlfriend's nose at a Ketchum condominium last October.
Court records list a Bonny Lake, Wash., address for Ryan M. Presta, though the records state that he was staying with his girlfriend at the Parkside Condominiums at the time of the alleged incident.
Presta pleaded not guilty to the charge before Judge Barry Wood. He is currently free on $2,500 bond.
A probable-cause affidavit filed by Ketchum police officer Nathan Taylor alleges that Presta broke his girlfriend's nose and gave her a bloody lip and a bruise under her left eye in a domestic altercation that Taylor alleges occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 5. Taylor wrote that he was sent to the condo complex on a report of a "domestic dispute in progress."
Taylor alleges in the affidavit that "Ryan grabbed her around the neck in the upstairs bedroom, pulled her hair and slammed her head into a dresser with vertical doors. While downstairs, Ryan grabbed (the woman) around the neck, pulled her hair and threw her over a couch by the front door."
Taylor wrote that damage in the condominium was consistent with the woman's account of the alleged altercation.
Wood scheduled a trial date for June 17. Ketchum attorney Andrew Parnes, who is representing Presta, said in court that a trial would likely last two days.
"What's the likelihood of it going to trial?" Wood asked.
"Optimistically, we're hoping that it's settled," Parnes replied.
Wood advised Presta to "keep in touch with your attorney, obey the no-contact order and don't violate any laws."
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Ryan M. Presta
