FORT HALL MAN SENTENCED FOR ASSAULTING WOMAN WITH BASEBALL BAT

A federal judge in Pocatello has sentenced a 24-year-old Fort Hall man to 42 months in prison for assaulting a woman with a baseball bat.

U.S. District Edward J. Lodge sentenced Dustin Quagigant yesterday at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

Quagigant was convicted in June of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon. The jury rejected his argument that he was elsewhere at the time.

On September 3, 2006, Fort Hall police were notified of an injured female. Witnesses reported that the woman had been at a trailer in the R & L Trailer Court on the Fort Hall Reservation when Quagigant and another man showed up. After Quagigant and the woman exchanged words, Quagigant hit her several times with the baseball bat.

The victim was transported to a local hospital and then Life-Flighted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls for treatment of head injuries. She was eventually released and has largely recovered, but still has lingering health issues from the head injuries.

Quagigant was arrested later that day by Fort Hall police and found to be intoxicated.

The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department and the FBI.