Trial set in felony battery case

SANDPOINT — A Sagle man accused of attacking another man during Lost in the 50s weekend is scheduled to stand trial.

Gale Howard Belgarde Jr. is charged with aggravated battery. His three-day jury trial in 1st District Court is set to start on Dec. 14.

Belgarde pleaded not guilty. If convicted of the felony charge, Belgarde could be imprisoned for up to 15 years.

Belgarde, 22, was one of two people implicated in the May 16 assault on a 46-year-old man in downtown Sandpoint. Belgarde and Stephen Richard Wold, 23, were originally charged with misdemeanor battery, although the charges were elevated after to the felony level due to the extent of the alleged victim’s head and eye injuries.

The case against Wold, who denied involvement in the battery, was dismissed without prejudice on the condition that he testify at Belgarde’s trial, court records indicate.

Belgarde insisted he was not the aggressor in the 2 a.m. incident on Cedar Street when he was interviewed by Sandpoint Police. Belgarde told officers the man threw the first punch and he responded in kind, a police report said.

Witnesses, however, said the two men set upon the alleged victim after he confronted them about overturning garbage cans. They told police the man was driven to the ground and beaten.