Spady sentenced to one year in jail

A Libby man will be spending the next year in jail after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of negligent endangerment.

Robert Earl “Buddy” Spady was arrested Jan. 22, 2016, and was charged with assault with a weapon or, in the alternative, partner family  member assault – third offense. He was also charged with assault on a minor. All three charges are felonies. Spady was also facing prosecution for a 2015 case in which he was charged with one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct and two counts each of violating county ordinances for failure to license a dog, dogs running at large and vicious dogs.

Based upon the plea agreement, the felony charge of assault with a weapon was amended to a misdemeanor count of negligent endangerment. The remaining charges were dismissed by the prosecutor, with a recommendation that Spady be sentenced to one year in the county jail, with all time to be suspended.

Montana 19th Judicial District Judge James Wheelis accepted Spady’s plea to the reduced charge, but rejected the prosecution’s recommended sentence and gave Spady the maximum penalty allowed by law, sentencing him to one year in jail with no time suspended and credit for time served. Spady was incarcerated from Jan. 22, 2016, until March 4, 2016, following the Jan. 22, 2016, incident which prompted the felony charges.

According to the affidavit filed as part of the charging documents, Spady assaulted his 12-year-old son, X.S. and another 12-year-old boy, identified as T.M.

“Robert went in and pushed T.M. into the tub and X.S. said he tried to push him out but he was thrown to the ground,” Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputy Brad Dodson wrote in the affidavit. “X.S. said he pointed the knife at T.M. and said to stay out of it.”

The son reported to law enforcement that he was physically attacked by Spady and prevented from using the phone to contact law enforcement.

“X.S. said that he was hit, and choked and hit,” Dodson wrote. “X.S. and T.M. again tried to distract Robert so they could call law enforcement. Robert took the phone away and wouldn’t let him call.”

Dodson noted several indicators of physical abuse on Spady’s son, although none were discernible on the other boy.

“X.S. had red marks at the base of his throat and complained of a headache from being hit and hitting his head,” he wrote. “There was a scratch mark on his torso he said from his dad. There was also a cut on his lip and his left eye was starting to swell.”

Several members of the victims’ families attended Monday’s proceedings and gathered outside the courthouse after the sentence was pronounced.

“It was way better than what the prosecutor wanted to do,” one of the victim’s mothers said about the sentence.

Spady was immediately remanded into the custody of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.