Felony charges dismissed in assault case

SANDPOINT — Felony assault and kidnapping charges are being dismissed against a Cocolalla man.

 The charges against Terrance Michael Finnerty Jr. were dismissed Wednesday after the alleged victim was unable to recall the events that formed the basis for the criminal complaint or her statements to police.

Misdemeanor domestic battery and assault remain in place. A pretrial conference on those alleged offenses is set for Oct. 25 in Bonner County Magistrate Court.

Finnerty, 37, was charged after the alleged victim told a sheriff’s deputy that he attacked her on Sept. 10 and threatened her with a stun gun and a survival knife.

The alleged episode began in Cocolalla and ended at a Sandpoint grocery store.

The alleged victim, however, denied making such statements to law enforcement in an email to The Bonner County Daily Bee. During a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, the 48-year-old woman repeatedly testified that she was unable to recall what took place on the day in question or what she told the deputy.

When confronted with a written statement she allegedly gave to a deputy, the woman disavowed it and said she could not read the document in court because she didn’t have her glasses, court records show.

Judge Justin Julian ruled that the woman’s inability to recall the events was “not legitimate,” but dismissed the case without prejudice. The nature of the dismissal allows the charges to be re-filed if additional evidence becomes available.