By KEITH KINNAIRDNews editor

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County jury has convicted a Sagle man of a battery that seriously injured a Sandpoint man during Lost in the 50s last year.

Jurors deliberated for a little over an hour before finding Gale Howard Belgarde Jr. guilty of aggravated battery causing great bodily injury, court records indicate.

Belgarde, 22, is scheduled to be sentenced on March 18 in 1st District Court.

Belgarde is accused of knocking out a Sandpoint man and delivering a series of follow-up blows as the man lay on Cedar Street on May 16, 2009. The 46-year old victim was hospitalized with a shattered eye socket that required surgery and implanted hardware to repair, according to trial testimony.

The alleged victim told jurors he confronted who he thought were teenagers knocking over trash cans, but quickly discovered they were adults.

Certain a brawl was about to happen, the man said he threw a punch but was unsure if the blow landed. He was unable to recall what happened next.

Witnesses testified that Belgarde delivered a knockout punch and rained down additional blows, which prompted another man to intervene by body checking Belgarde.

Belgarde told Sandpoint Police the alleged victim was the aggressor and he was protecting himself.

Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson argued during closing remarks that there was no evidence Belgarde meant to seriously injure the man.

“He did not beat a man to a pulp. He did swing once in response to the one swing (by the alleged victim). He waited with his hands cocked back,” said Robertson.

Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank argued Belgarde was on the prowl for a fight and went overboard when the opportunity presented itself.

“When someone is down on the ground, out, and on their back, you cannot — the law says you cannot — continue to pummel somebody,” he said during rebuttal.

The jury reached its verdict on Feb. 11.