Man charged with felony assault and unlawful restraint

A Libby man is being held on $250,000 bond after he was accused of beating a woman and holding her against her will at his house on Falcon Trail.

Robert “Bob” Gene Clift, 44, of Libby, was arrested Tuesday for aggravated assault, a felony, and unlawful restraint, a misdemeanor. Justice of the Peace Jay Sheffield set Clift’s bond at $250,000. Clift is scheduled to appear in court in October.

Around 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Brent Faulkner responded to a call about a woman lying in a resident’s driveway in the Falcon Trail area. Faulkner found the woman inside the home of a neighbor who was uninvolved with the incident. According to Faulkner’s report, the woman was already swollen, both eyes were black and she was bleeding from the mouth.

The victim told Faulkner that Clift had hit her before, but never to this degree. Faulkner’s report did not clearly describe their relationship. Faulkner did report that Clift is about six-feet, two-inches tall and weights about 275 pounds, and also has a partner-family member assault charge currently pending in Troy City Court.

According to court documents, the woman told Faulkner that Clift had assaulted her on Tuesday while she was driving them both along U.S. Highway 2 near Hammer Cutoff Road toward Libby. Clift then instructed the woman to pull over so he could drive. They got out and began arguing in front of the car at the Hammer Cutoff intersection, where another driver actually called dispatch to report the two having a dispute around 1:45 p.m., a little more than an hour before dispatch received the call that the woman was lying in the neighbor’s driveway.

Before the second call was made to dispatch, Clift and the woman drove to Clift’s home, according to court documents. In the report, the woman told Faulkner that she was terrified upon arriving at the house because she didn’t see Clift’s children around, which she believed meant that he would not stop his assault for their sake.

According to Faulkner’s report, Clift then allegedly took her to the bedroom and continued the assault, hitting her in the face and torso before putting his hands on her mouth and nose to cutoff her airways. She told Faulkner that she pretended to pass out so he would leave her alone, but he would only keep hitting her. Clift allegedly told the victim several times that he was going to kill her.

Eventually, the victim said, Clift passed out and she was able to escape the house. She ran to one neighboring home, but got dizzy and collapsed in the driveway. The neighbor opened his door and let the woman inside, where she told the neighbor to lock the door. Lincoln County dispatch received the second call, which described the victim in the driveway, around 3 p.m.

Faulkner reported finding the woman’s car in front of Clift’s home, but Clift refused to come out of the house, according to court documents. Clift was eventually arrested around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

If convicted of the county charges, Clift faces up to 20 years and six months in Montana State Prison and a possible $50,500 in fines. His preliminary hearing has been set for 2:30 p.m. Oct. 13 in Lincoln County District Court.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.