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Montana man charged with assaulting a woman and holding her against her will

Gralen Eugen Hobble, Jr., has been charged
Posted at 11:41 AM, Jan 03, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-03 13:41:51-05

GREAT FALLS — A man has been charged in Great Falls after he reportedly assaulted a woman and held her against her will.

Court documents state that Sheriff's deputies were sent to a house on 18th Street South for a report of a 911 hang-up call.

When officers arrived, the woman ran out of the house when she saw the deputies, and Gralen Eugen Hobble, Jr., was chasing her.

The woman, who deputies noted had bruises on her forearms, told an officer that she and Hobble had been drinking the night before and that they got into an argument that morning.

She said she threw some clothes at Hobble and said something to the effect of "if he didn’t like it there to leave." Hobble reportedly responded by forcibly grabbing the woman by her arms to “make her listen.”

Hobble saw that she had a phone in her hand, and he broke it and then threw it, so that she couldn't call for help, according to the charging documents.

The woman told officers she tried to leave several times during the incident, telling Hobble that she wanted to leave. Hobble responding by calling her a "whore" and demanding that she “listen to him.”

Hobble then confined her to the bedroom by force by throwing her several times to the bed and keeping her there.

The woman soon noticed Hobble’s phone on the floor; she managed to pick it up and hide it until Hobble allowed her to use the bathroom; at that point, she called 911 and whispered the address before hanging up.

When she saw deputies outside, she asked Hobble to let her get a drink of water and ran out of the house. The victim said the incident had been going on for two hours before deputies arrived.

According to the officer’s affidavit, the woman had bruises on her forearms along with reddish, swollen bruises on her upper arms. The officers also noted that there were several broken items inside the house, including two doors, the bed frame, and the aforementioned phone. He also noted that the house "was in disarray" and there were several empty cases of beer.

Hobble told a deputy that he and the woman had gotten into a fight the night before, and the following morning he was lying on the couch when she threw clothes at him and told him to get out. Hobble admitted that he grabbed the woman by the arm to turn her around, and said he forced her to listen during the argument.

Court documents note that Hobble has two convictions for partner/family members assault.

Hobble has been charged with partner/family member assault, unlawful restraint, and criminal destruction of or tampering with a communication device.