Whitefish man faces felony charges in Taser incident

A man faces up to 20 years in state prison and a maximum fine of $50,000 after using a Taser to assault a Columbia Falls woman in her home Sept. 22.

Aaron Martin McGarry of Whitefish was charged with felony assault with a weapon and had his bond set $100,000 in Flathead County District Court last week after using a flashlight Taser to attack the female victim three times. He is also facing charges of stalking, two counts of violation of a protective order, parole violation and failure to appear.

According to charging documents, dispatch received a 911 call in which the victim could be heard begging McGarry to stop and to let her go. Upon their arrival at the scene, police officers were informed by the victim that, after a verbal altercation, McGarry had pushed her onto a couch and shocked her three times while she attempted to call 911. The victim was unable to speak with the dispatcher until she escaped from McGarry and was able to lock herself in an adjacent bedroom.

McGarry was also in violation of a protection order against contacting the victim and was arrested by Columbia Falls police officers. McGarry continued to threaten the officers with a lawsuit and, upon arrival at the Flathead County Detention Center, McGarry refused to be booked in, stating he was “going to prove that he didn’t need to get booked in to be released.”

McGarry is no stranger to local law enforcement as he is currently serving a suspended sentence of five years after pleading guilty to a felony charge of criminal distribution of imitation dangerous drugs in April 2018.

The drug charges came after another incident in August 2017 in which McGarry confronted the Taser victim at a bar in Whitefish. McGarry was arrested on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing, but later also faced a felony charge of criminal mischief after kicking out the window and doing $2,500 worth of damage to the arresting officer’s patrol vehicle. The charges were later dismissed as part of the plea agreement to plead guilty to the drug charge.

McGarry is still in custody at the Flathead County Detention Center, as police didn’t think much of his lawsuit argument.