Plea entered in choking case

SANDPOINT — A Washington state man implicated in a violent domestic dispute entered an Alford plea to a felony charge Thursday to resolve the criminal case against him.

Lonnie Lee Allen is scheduled to be sentenced for attempted strangulation on Jan. 7, 2010. He faces up to 15 years in prison, although the state and the defense have agreed to jointly recommended a suspended prison term, probation and credit for time served.

Allen, a 39-year-old from Spokane, Wash., has been held at the Bonner County Jail since his arrest last summer.

Allen entered the plea during a pretrial conference in 1st District Court. Under such a plea, a defendant admits no wrongdoing but concedes he could be found guilty if the matter were to go to trial.

The sentence recommendations are not binding upon the court and the plea itself is treated no differently than a standard plea of guilt at sentencing.

Under the terms of a plea agreement, charges of second-degree kidnapping, battery and driving without privileges will be dismissed, court documents indicate.

Allen was accused of pushing his former girlfriend into in his vehicle following an argument in downtown Sandpoint and battering her as he drove west on U.S. Highway 2 toward Dover.

He allegedly threatened to publicize a sex tape the former couple had made and choked her during the Aug. 12 incident.

The 40-year-old woman testified at a preliminary hearing that Allen stopped the vehicle, where the altercation continued inside and outside the car.

An Idaho State Police trooper happened by and intervened.