Plea deal drops assault on cops case to misdeameanor

A Libby man charged with two felony counts of assault on a peace officer and one misdemeanor count of partner family member assault is free after a plea agreement dropped the charges to two misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest.

Caleb Covey, 29, pleaded guilty to the two misdemeanor counts in Montana’s 19th Judicial District Court Monday and was sentenced to six months in jail for each count, with all time suspended except for the 123 days he spent incarcerated between the date of his arrest and his release.

Covey was arrested April 23, 2015, after officers responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at his residence.

According to the report filed by Officer Jonathan Graham, three police officers responded to the call and were told, upon arrival, Covey was upstairs and armed. Officers entered the residence, identified themselves as police officers and ordered Covey to come downstairs. 

Graham reported Covey started coming down the stairs and ordered the officers to leave the residence.

“From where I was standing I could see Caleb as he came around the corner of the stairs,” Graham wrote. “He was putting on a T-shirt. When Caleb saw us in the living room he immediately began ordering us to get out of his house. Chief Smith told Caleb to come down and talk to us. Caleb continued to tell us to get out of his house. He stated that we could talk to him on the porch.”

The officers then stepped out onto the porch, but Covey refused to join them. When Covey attempted to move deeper into the house, Chief Smith told him he was under arrest, which is when, according the report, the situation escalated. Covey reportedly punched Smith in the head. He then reportedly hit and bit Graham.

“I saw that Chief Smith was going for Caleb’s legs, so I went for his upper body,” Graham wrote. “Caleb punched me in the face (on the left side on the front of my lower jaw) as I was closing the distance on him. I wrapped my arms around his upper body and Caleb bit me on the left cheek. I used my right hand to push on Caleb’s jaw and force his head away from me. Caleb bit me on the hand.”

Graham was treated and released at Cabinet Peaks Medical Center for several cuts and scrapes, as well as given antibiotics to combat infection and blood tests to check for exposure to hepatitis or other disease. He was ordered off work for 48 hours.

The felony charges of assault on a peace officer could each have been punishable by up to two years in prison and $50,000 in fines. The dismissed partner family member assault carried a maximum of one year in jail and up to $1,000 in fines.