Assault leads to five year sentence for Troy man

A Troy man accused of two separate cases of partner or family member assault was sentenced July 2 to five years with the Montana Department of Corrections in Montana 19th Judicial District Court, after admitting to a probation violation from the earlier incident.

Brian Kelso had pleaded not guilty on June 26 to the more recent incident.

The most recent assault Kelso is accused of stems from a June 6 incident. The earlier incident took place last October.

Kelso was previously convicted of partner or family member assault in 2014 and twice in 2017. His most recent conviction was in July 2017.

Third or subsequent convictions are felonies.

According to an affidavit by Troy Police Officer Travis Miller, the June 6 incident began with a report to Troy dispatch of “a guy running around acting crazy and might possibly be high.”

On reaching the incident location on Missoula Avenue, Miller stated that Nels Strand told him that Kelso came over yelling and began throwing his girlfriend around, then “ruffed her up.” Strand also said Kelso attempted to pour gasoline on himself and his girlfriend and light them both on fire, and that the girlfriend was concerned Kelso intended to set her camper on fire.

Kelso was not at the scene, and Strand said he ran away after Todd Rebo ran over and told Kelso to leave.

With the assistance of Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies and a detective, Miller approached Kelso’s trailer, and stated that he saw him run into the woods.

After a search of the hillside, Miller located Kelso lying on his back in a clump of trees, apparently attempting to hide. When Miller called Kelso’s name, he sat up, and, in response to further instruction, put his hands in the air.

Miller called for the deputies and detective, and they detained Kelso and transported him to Libby.

Miller returned to talk to witnesses, and the affidavit states that Rebo told Miller he saw Kelso striking his girlfriend in the yard. Rebo also said Kelso threatened to harm Rebo if he called police.

Miller was unable to find Kelso’s girlfriend that night, and was told she had left with a friend.

The next day, Miller returned to Kelso’s trailer with Troy Officer Patrick Faulkner, and Kelso’s girlfriend answered the door. When asked about the previous night, she claimed that Kelso had not hit her and that they were just being loud.

In response to witness reports, Kelso’s girlfriend told Miller that she had never been thrown to the ground, but had sat down. She said that Kelso had not poured gas on either of them.

She claimed the gas on Kelso came to be there because “he just got sloppy with it” while trying to light a trash fire.

Kelso’s girlfriend said they had an argument regarding a phone, but that it was only verbal.

On June 8, Miller spoke with Kelso’s neighbor, Don Bryant, who is Strand’s son. Bryant said Kelso came over looking for his girlfriend and was apparently drunk and had not had medication. He told Miller “they were worried that Caleb was going to burn the place down.”

Bryant first told Miller that Kelso did not touch his girlfriend, then that they “tussled,” but that Kelso did not hit her. Bryant said the fight was about cigarettes, and that he calmed Kelso by giving him a cigarette and offering to bring him food if he went home.

That same day, Miller again spoke with Rebo, who said he witnessed Kelso throw his girlfriend to the ground, but did not see him strike her, although her face was red and he assumed she had been hit.

Rebo told Miller that Kelso’s girlfriend was “going toe to toe” with Kelso and “she was fighting like a man and giving it back to Caleb as good as he was giving it to her.”

Rebo also revealed that the scratches on Kelso’s back were inflicted by Kelso’s girlfriend. Miller previously had thought that they came from Kelso’s attempt to flee through the woods.

Rebo said Kelso had poured gasoline on himself, but was unsure if he had poured it on his girlfriend.

According to the affidavit, Rebo told Miller that Kelso’s girlfriend had come over the day after the incident to ask Rebo not to say anything to law enforcement, and had told Rebo that Kelso had not hit her.

The incident from October involved the same victim.

According to an affidavit from Troy Police Chief Katie Davis, she responded to an early morning call about Kelso’s girlfriend seeking shelter. His girlfriend alleged Kelso was increasingly violent and would not leave.

The victim told Davis that Kelso had assaulted her around 4 a.m., striking, choking and smacking her.

Joshua Fleck, who accompanied the alleged victim, said Kelso had tried to swing at him during the incident and that they had had prior altercations.

Fleck also claimed Kelso had been using methamphetamine the previous day.

Troy Volunteer Ambulance personnel checked the alleged victim and found bruising on her neck. She and Fleck were taken to Cabinet Peaks Medical Center.

After determining Kelso had two prior assault charges and a warrant out of Lincoln County, Davis and three other Troy officers went to the home shared by Fleck, Kelso and the alleged victim. They founf Kelso asleep in a bed in the camper.

The affidavit states Kelso was taken to jail without incident.