Mediation is ordered in case

SANDPOINT — Mediation is being ordered in an attempt to resolve a criminal case against a Ponderay man charged with battery with intent to commit rape.

Bud Garland Dazey is accused of attacking a 24-year-old woman in her home in September of last year. She said Dazey carried her to a bedroom and held her down on a bed as he attempted to unzip her pants, according to preliminary hearing testimony in the case.

The woman repeatedly told Dazey, 40, to stop and kneed him hard in the groin several times, the woman testified. She slid out from underneath Dazey, which broke off the alleged attack.

The woman, who had known Garland for 16 years, testified that the attack occurred over the span of 10 minutes, but said that it felt like 45 minutes.

Charging papers allege that Dazey meant to rape the woman.

Dazey’s defense counsel, Sandpoint attorney Bruce Greene, argued during the preliminary hearing that there was insufficient evidence to sustain a charge of battery with intent to commit rape.

“At worst, there may have been a minor battery,” Greene said during the October 2016 hearing.

Bonner County Magistrate Court Judge Debra Heise disagreed, noting that the woman testified that Dazey tried to unzip her pants and groped her repeatedly, court records show.

Dazey was ordered to stand trial and pleaded not guilty to the offense.

If mediation fails to bear fruit, a three-day jury trial is scheduled for May. A pretrial hearing is set for April 21.

Dazey is free on $10,000 bail while the case is pending.

District Judge Barbara Buchanan entered the mediation order on Feb. 24, court records show.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.