Man arrested for assault

SAGLE – A Clark Fork man was arrested following an alleged attack on two men who recently sought political office in Bonner County.

According to Bonner County Sheriff’s reports, officers were called to a Sagle store late last month after a robbery was reported. The suspect, Michael Franco, was arrested across the street from the store while officers spoke with the two alleged victims.

The alleged victims are two men who ran for political office this year – Daniel Rose, who is running as an independent for the state Senate District 1 seat, and Spencer Hutchings, who recently lost the primary election for the House District 1A seat.

Rose reportedly told officers that he was visiting Hutchings at his business in Sagle when Franco entered the building.

“Hutchings immediately asked him to leave because he is known to cause problems,” the probable cause affidavit states. “(Rose) also asked him to leave, but he refused.”

According to court documents, Franco attempted to speak with Rose, who agreed to leave the store to speak with him. After Franco left the store, Rose allegedly told officers he attempted to close the door behind Franco, causing him to stick his foot in the door to avoid being locked out.

“Franco then grabbed (Rose) by the shirt and pulled him outside,” an officer wrote in the probable cause affidavit. “They began to fight and Franco pulled him to the ground where he struck (Rose) in the chest.”

Rose told officers that Hutchings yelled at Franco to stop, but he ignored him. According to court documents, Hutchings began punching Franco in the back of the head to get him away from Rose. When Franco finally stood up, he allegedly knocked Hutchings’ cellphone out of his hand.

“Franco then struck Hutchings on the upper body with his hands,” the affidavit states.

As Franco fled the scene, he allegedly stepped on Hutchings’ phone, breaking it.

Deputies found that Hutchings’ story matched Rose’s when he was questioned about the situation. Both men reportedly refused medical treatment for the injuries they reported to deputies.

In an interview with police, Franco claimed that after being asked to go outside to talk to Rose, Hutchings began hitting him on the back of the head “for no reason.”

Partially released surveillance camera footage shows that the incident unfolded differently than the men reported. However, a full video of the attack has not been made available to the public.

Franco was arrested on two counts of assault and taken to jail. His bail was set at $300 for each count of assault and both men were ordered not to contact each other.

Franco continued to maintain his innocence and spoke publicly at two meetings of the Bonner County Board of Commissioners.

“I am innocent,” he said during the meeting on May 28. “The extremely violent person is still at large.”

During the business session on June 4, Franco spoke again and protested his innocence in the matter.

“I am still an innocent man,” he repeated. “We must ask ourselves why an extreme, violent man walks among us…”

Franco said he and the third person in the incident, believed to be Rose, have been friends since about 2003 when they supported the same political candidate.

“I tried to track down this man in Sagle and give him one last chance to convince him to leave this cult-like organization,” Franco said.

Rose also commented on the incident in a press release.

“This is an unfortunate incident that was not staged for political reasons and that actually resulted in real medical injuries/complications and property damage,” Rose said.

Franco’s trial is scheduled for July 25.