Plea talks in felony domestic case

SANDPOINT — Plea negotiations are under way in a felony domestic violence case pending against a Sandpoint man, according to court records.

Mark Ewing waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, clearing the way for his arraignment in 1st District Court on felony charges of domestic violence causing traumatic injury and attempted strangulation.

Ewing, 52, is accused of attacking his fiancee outside their home on Aug. 11. The 41-year-old woman told investigators that Ewing threw her to the ground, choked her and punched her in the face twice, which blackened her eye.

Ewing, court documents indicate, denied battering the woman and painted her as the aggressor. Ewing told Sandpoint Police she beat him and was so out of control that she managed to hit herself and cause the injuries.

A judge filed a no-contact order while the case was pending, but the alleged victim requested it be terminated. Judge Debra Heise declined to dismiss the order, but did modify it so she could consult with Ewing’s legal counsel, Paul Vogel.

A month after the alleged attack, Ewing was charged with six misdemeanor counts of violating the no-contact order. A trial on those offenses is set for December, although court records indicate a plea agreement is being contemplated in that matter as well.

The defense moved for the no-contact order to be dismissed and included an affidavit from the alleged victim. The woman said in the affidavit that she was to blame for the altercation because she was intoxicated.

She asserts in the affidavit that she battered Ewing and attributed her documented injuries to stumbling and falling on the ground during the scuffle. She also wants the case against Ewing dismissed.

“I simply cannot remain silent and allow him to be detained any further without speaking up and telling the truth,” she said in the affidavit.

Judge Quentin Harden declined to dismiss the no-contact order on Wednesday, but one of the proposed terms of the plea agreement calls for its dismissal once Ewing enters a plea in district court.