Sentence revoked for 'magic trick' assailant

A 30-year-old Coram man’s suspended sentence for assaulting a man in January was revoked after he violated his probation conditions.

Flathead County District Court Judge Robert Allison revoked Dustin Abbey’s five-year suspended sentence on Sept. 16.

Allison sentenced Abbey to five years with the Montana Department of Corrections and ordered him to pay $8,687 in restitution to the victim. Allison also ordered Abbey to undergo anger management and cognitive behavioral programs. Abbey was given credit for 114 days in jail.

According to court records, Abbey was arrested Jan. 23 after a “magic trick” sent a man to North Valley Hospital with facial fractures. Abbey allegedly asked the victim if he wanted to see a magic trick and then held a handkerchief over the man’s face and struck him in the face several times.

Abbey was initially charged with felony aggravated assault, but it was reduced to felony criminal endangerment in a plea deal. He had faced up to 20 years in prison and a $50,000 fine for the initial charge.

The probation office in Libby reported that Abbey violated his probation by smoking pot and drinking beer in September and posting a 0.052 blood-alcohol content in a breath test in October. He was arrested in the VFW Bar in Libby on Oct. 15 for drinking and allegedly blew a 0.371 BAC — more than four times the legal limit for driving.

A probation officer in Libby said Abbey posed a risk to public safety and recommended his suspended sentence be revoked .

Abbey has been convicted of felony charges several times in the past, including a charge of aggravated assault on a law enforcement official in 2009.