Police respond to welfare check, man faces domestic battery charges

BONNERS FERRY — A Sept. 18 welfare check led to the discovery of a possible domestic battery in progress, which led to the arrest of a Mark Gillaspy, Bonners Ferry Police said.

Mark Gillaspy, 33, faces a felony charge of aggravated domestic battery.

The welfare check was prompted by a call to sheriff’s dispatch from a concerned individual who had received a text message from the victim stating, “He’s going to kill me.”

According to court records, Bonners Ferry Police officers Scott Davis and Malorie Stippich arrived at the home and quickly discovered a male and female inside the residence with loud thumping noises and screaming from a female voice.

“It was obvious that a violent battery was in progress,” Davis stated in the court records.

As the officers entered the household, they discovered Gillaspy standing over the victim, who was in the fetal position screaming “in fear and trembling.”

According to Davis, Gillaspy was known to law enforcement for prior domestic battery incidents and that he was likely to have concealed firearms in the home.

Davis identified signs that the victim had been beaten and hit by a liquor bottle, which was discovered on top of a dog kennel near the front door.

Davis said in court records that Gillaspy appeared heavily intoxicated and told officers that “if anything she is beating on me.”

When officers attempted to get the victim to file a witness statement, she initially declined, saying, “No I can’t do that, I know better.”

Davis said he noticed both fresh injuries on the victim and older injuries from previous assaults, including bruises on the left arm resembling a handprint and a swollen left cheekbone.

Bonners Ferry Sgt. Willie Cowell followed up with the victim to check her welfare and spoke to a friend who had arrived to support her and monitor her well-being.

The victim told him she didn’t know how she was injured or whether she had lost consciousness. However, she did recall being struck, kicked and hit in the face with the Tequila bottle. Cowell said the victim told him that Gillaspy was upset about her contact with her ex-husband a few days earlier.

Gillaspy was set a bond amount of $20,000 and ordered not to contact the victim. He posted bail and was released from custody on Sept. 21, where police claim he violated the no-contact order by returning to the victim’s home.

BFPD Chief Brian Zimmerman, Asst. Chief Marty Ryan and Officer Jason Trujillo responded to dispatch requesting officers at the victim’s residence. Gillaspy didn’t open the doors for the Bonners Ferry Police, so officers forced their way into the place where Gillaspy was last spotted.

“After an extensive search, BFPD located Mark Gillaspy hiding in the attic crawl space of the residence,” Ryan said.

Gillaspy is in custody and currently remains in Boundary County Jail, according to Ryan.