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St. Ignatius man faces assault charges

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POLSON – A 34-year-old St. Ignatius man faces charges of assault with a weapon, stalking and violating an order of protection multiple times following separate incidents earlier this year. 

James. J. McGuire also faces revocation of a sentence for misdemeanor partner family member assault and criminal mischief convictions from 2016. 

He was charged with assault with a weapon following a May 28 incident in which he allegedly initiated a fight with a woman, restrained her from leaving a bedroom, threw her onto a bed, damaged her cell phone, pointed a gun at his head and threatened to commit suicide, and screamed at the woman and berated her over a two-hour time period. 

According to a court document, McGuire fired a gun at an unopened window, and law enforcement found a shell casing from a .45-caliber gun on a bedroom floor. McGuire denied threatening to commit suicide and said he became angry because the woman was pushing his buttons and mentally and emotionally abuses him to the point of “losing it.” 

He was served with a five-year order of protection on June 20. 

He pleaded not guilty to the assault with a weapon charge on June 28, a Dec. 4 trial was set and he was given a $5,000 bond with a requirement to wear a GPS. 

McGuire was arrested again on July 26 and given a $50,000 bond following a July 23 incident in which he allegedly came to the woman’s workplace to talk to her in violation of a protection order. He also allegedly sent her Facebook messages twice on July 21, seven times on July 22, and called her twice and texted her 11 times on July 23. 

That followed a July 20 incident in which he allegedly found the woman at McDonald Lake based on her Facebook posts and spoke to her. According to a court document, the woman tried to ignore him and left with her dogs but McGuire followed her on a motorcycle. GPS data supports that he was at McDonald Lake at the time indicated by the woman, the document states. 

McGuire was originally charged with two counts of assault with a weapon and misdemeanor criminal mischief related to an April 3, 2016 incident in which he entered a woman’s home in Charlo in the early morning hours, went into a bedroom and found the woman with her paramour. According to a court document, McGuire took his .45-caliber gun from a dresser, operated the slide and threatened the man and woman with it. The woman got McGuire to leave the home, but he then shot a hole through the door of the paramour’s 2008 Chevy Impala. A bullet was later found under a seat in that vehicle, and a .45-caliber gun was found in McGuire’s pickup, a court document states. 

He paid $968 in restitution in that case in which he accepted a plea agreement for misdemeanor partner family member assault and criminal mischief. 

McGuire was in court Aug. 9, but his three cases were continued to Aug. 16. 

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