Yaak resident pleads guilty to assaulting wife

A Lincoln County man with previous domestic assault convictions recently pleaded guilty to a third in Lincoln County District Court.

Robert William Gile, 51, who is being held in the county Detention Center, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of criminal endangerment on April 10. He was charged with one felony count of partner or family member assault. He pleaded not guilty to the offense in district court on Nov. 28. The original charge was dismissed as part of the plea deal.

According to his public defender, Ben Kolter, and Deputy County Attorney Jeffrey Zwang, the negotiated plea deal calls for a 3-year suspended sentence.

According to a charging document filed by Deputy County Attorney Jeff Zwang on Nov. 22, Derek Breiland, an officer with the county sheriff’s office, wrote that he and deputy James Derryberry responded to a residence on Cedars Drive in the Yaak at 1:58 p.m. Nov. 13 for a disturbance in progress.

When they arrived, Derryberry spoke with the alleged victim while Breiland spoke to Gile. Gile allegedly told the officer nothing happened and that he was tired and irritated because his wife is on the phone all the time and he just wants to go to sleep. Breiland noted that Gile had a strong odor of alcohol on him and Gile allegedly said he had been drinking.

According to the court document, Gile said he got “a little mouthy” with his wife, but nothing happened.

But the woman had a different account.

When Breiland spoke to her, she said Gile had been drinking heavily in the last 24 hours. She said when he drinks, he becomes very violent. She said when she was on the phone with her sister on the previous night, Gile slapped her twice on the back.

She said she has been with Gile for 11 years and it’s the third time she has called law enforcement. She also said Gile is aggressive toward her every three or four days. She was afraid that if she didn’t call law enforcement, he would hit her or something worse as he has allegedly threatened in the past.

Breiland wrote in his report that the woman expressed extreme fear from Gile and began to cry while they spoke.

The woman also said she normally handles his behavior on her own, but on that day she couldn’t. She also told Breiland that Gile goes to anger management classes twice a week, but she said it doesn’t seem to be helping.

Gile was then arrested and taken to the county jail.

Breiland wrote that Gile has two previous PFMA convictions in Montana, including May 3, 2015, and Aug. 4, 2021.