Sentence imposed in choking case

SANDPOINT — A Spokane man accused of choking his girlfriend and threatening to ruin her by publicizing a sex tape they made was given a suspended prison sentence on Thursday.

Lonnie Lee Allen spent nearly five months in the Bonner County Jail awaiting trial on charges of attempted strangulation and second-degree kidnapping before entering into a plea agreement.

Allen entered an Alford plea to the attempted strangulation charge and the kidnapping charge was dismissed. Under the terms of the plea, Allen admits no wrongdoing, but concedes he could be convicted if tried.

First District Judge Steve Verby adopted the sentence recommendations contained in the agreement, which he viewed as a compromise in a case where neither side could guarantee unmitigated victory.

The case stems from a domestic dispute that began over dinner downtown and ended alongside U.S. Highway 2 last August.

Allen’s 40-year-old former girlfriend testified during a preliminary hearing that he choked her with one hand and drove his car with the other. An Idaho State Police trooper subsequently discovered the two arguing outside the car and intervened.

The ensuing investigation revealed Allen was being sought for arrest in Iowa on an extortion charge and more than 20 videotapes of him having sex with various women, at least two of whom were unaware of the recordings.

The victim in the case did not testify at Allen’s sentencing, although a written statement from her was incorporated into the pre-sentence report, the contents of which are not public.

Allen’s defense counsel, Gary Amendola, lambasted the report as overwhelmingly biased against his client, a decorated Gulf War veteran and businessman who does not have a serious criminal record.

“It’s written with a bias that I haven’t seen in a long time,” Amendola said of the pre-sentence report.

A counselor who tended to Allen when he was suffering from symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder at the jail testified that Allen’s dishonesty in romantic relationships was breathtakingly clear. However, it was also clear Allen was not a violent person.

“If he is a danger to society, I want the judge to know that,” said Eric Ridgway, emphasizing that he is unwilling to sugarcoat his professional observations.

Prosecutor Louis Marshall reminded the court that Allen had indeed hurt his former girlfriend physically and emotionally.

“His prior record is minimal; it’s not minimal now,” said Marshall.

Allen wept as he told Verby his incarceration has had a profound effect on him and equated it to seeing his reflection in the mirror every moment of the day.

“There’s no turning away,” he said.

Verby explained that the Iowa extortion charge would not factor into his deliberation because it has not been proven. He imposed a suspended sentence of 1-3 years and put Allen on probation for five years. Allen was also fined $1,000 and required to return to Iowa to face the extortion charge.