21 year-old Jason Lenoir appeared in Missoula Justice Court on Tuesday on charges of assaulting a peace officer after allegedly punching a county detention officer in the face in September.

Lenoir was originally in jail on charges of sexual intercourse without consent from June 2016, after allegedly breaking into his girlfriend’s home and having sex with her while she was passed out, even though she had taken out an order of protection against him. At the time, Judge Marie Anderson set bail at $100,000.

Deputy Missoula County Attorney Ryan Mickelson said Lenoir was tried in August of 2017, and he decided to change his plea to guilty.

"He was supposed to be sentenced on November 15th, however he filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea and we are awaiting briefings to determine what happens next in that case," Mickelson said.

The charging documents for the latest incident state that Lenoir refused to comply with orders from corrections officers for lock-up, and when he was approached by one of the officers, without warning, Lenoir struck the officer in the face with the back of his wrist, and the officer heard a loud pop from the blow. He told other officers if they had not come to his aid, Lenoir would have struck him again.

Assaulting a peace officer is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and or a fine of up to $50,000.

Deputy Missoula County Attorney Kaitlin Williams asked Judge Marie Anderson for $15,000 bail concurrent with the $100,000 bail from the rape charge.

 

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