Thompson Falls man pleads not guilty to strangulation

A Thompson Falls man accused of strangling his wife in a local lodging house pleaded not guilty to multiple charges in Lincoln County District Court on Feb. 8.

Michael Anthony Villanueva, 34, faces charges of felony strangulation of a partner or family member and misdemeanor violation of a protective order. He was initially held on a $50,000 bond.

Libby police officers arrested Villanueva after responding to a disturbance call at an area motel about 12:42 a.m. on Jan. 16. A caller had reported what sounded like an escalating argument between a man and a woman.

As officers arrived, they could hear a woman crying and a man, using profane language, telling her to be quiet, court documents said.

Interceding, officers found the woman bleeding from the right side of her neck. They noticed redness and swelling in the shape of a finger on her neck as well, court documents said.

The victim told officers that the man, her husband of five years, had strangled after pinning her to the bed. She estimated that the strangulation had lasted for several minutes. She accused him of strangling her several times that evening.

According to an affidavit, Villanueva already has one conviction in California for corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant dating back to 2013.

An omnibus hearing is set for May 3 with a pretrial conference scheduled for June 7. Were the case to go to trial, it would begin July 13.