Three-day trial is set to hear Savage assault, tampering case

Dan James Savage, who was charged with partner/family assault earlier this year, will soon get his day in court. Actually, he’ll get three days in court. 

District Court Judge James B. Wheelis on Monday scheduled Savage’s trial for Jan. 8-11. 

Savage, 34, will face an additional charge of witness tampering for allegedly making repeated contact with the woman he was accused of assaulting. Prosecutors said Savage called the woman 109 times during a three-day period between May 28 and May 30, after he had been released on bond. 

Prosecutors contend the phone calls constituted an onslaught of intimidation. During a previous hearing, prosecutors provided phone records from Verizon detailing numerous calls made by Savage from his phone and other phones that he had borrowed. 

David Pagan, the custodian of records for Verizon, testified that Savage made 65 calls to the woman’s phone during one 24-hour period. 

Lane K. Bennett, Savage’s attorney, contends Savage did not ask the woman to lie. Therefore, Bennett argued, there was no witness tampering.

“I don’t think the record shows he tampered,” Bennett said during the pre-trial conference Monday. “He told her to ‘just tell the truth.’ I don’t see how that’s witness tampering.”

Savage now faces four separate charges, including three felonies. He has pleaded not guilty to all four charges, including felony witness tampering, felony assault, felony stalking and misdemeanor criminal mischief. 

If found guilty on all charges, Savage could face a maximum of 20 years and six months in prison, without possibility of parole. It’s the third time Savage was charged with family/partner assault. 

Savage is the same person who was severely beaten last winter outside the Troy VFW and subsequently spent days in a Kalispell hospital. 

It is the policy of The Western News to avoid identifying victims of sexual or family/partner assault.