A man arrested Saturday in Hailey on a felony charge of attempted strangulation has instead been charged with misdemeanor domestic battery.
Lawrence Lenzy Mayle, 43, was arraigned on the misdemeanor charge Monday in Blaine County Magistrate Court and released later that day from the Blaine County jail after posting $500 bond.
But a misdemeanor charge was not what Hailey police had in mind when they arrested Mayle at his north Second Street residence about 1 a.m. Saturday morning.
"He allegedly grabbed her around the neck," said Hailey Police Chief Jeff Gunter, referring to Mayle's 28-year-old girlfriend, who Gunter said was living at the same residence.
The police chief said the woman had marks around her neck to corroborate the allegation.
Gunter said the confrontation started as an argument that apparently turned violent.
"She was able to get away, using a defensive measure—she hit him in the head with a cup," Gunter said. "He went into the bathroom and she went downstairs and called police."
The police chief said the woman was not transported to a hospital, but that Mayle was arrested and transported to jail.
Blaine County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matt Fredback explained the charge against Mayle in an e-mail sent Tuesday to the Idaho Mountain Express.
"The reason that the state did not file an attempted strangulation charge on Mr. Mayle is because I did not believe that there was sufficient evidence to prove this charge beyond a reasonable doubt," Fredback wrote.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Lawrence Lenzy Mayle
