Mother and daughter accused of beating woman outside Idaho Falls bar
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IDAHO FALLS — A mother and daughter are accused of severely beating a woman outside of an Idaho Falls bar Saturday morning.
The Idaho Falls Police Department was called to the Fords Bar on A Street shortly after 2 a.m., where they found a woman with injuries to her face. Paramedics needed to take her to a local hospital.
Investigators suspected that Sierra Joe, 23, and her mother, Sheila Lee, 43, were responsible for the woman’s injuries.
Officers were working to put together what happened and spotted Lee and Joe nearby. Witnesses said Lee believed the victim had spat on her inside the bar. A confrontation followed, and bar staff sent the women outside using separate doors.
Lee and Joe then found the victim in an alleyway. That’s where everyone’s accounts differ. At first, Joe and Lee denied ever being inside the bar, but then changed their story.
Joe claims she tends to “black out” after having drinks and did not remember what happened. Witnesses claimed they saw Joe punch the victim as well as another person outside the bar.
Lee claims she did confront the victim about spitting on her but denied assaulting the victim. She did have a small amount of blood on her shoes and sweatshirts but said she believed it to be her own blood.
The victim claimed after Lee confronted her, Joe punched her in the face once or twice, sending her to the ground. Afterward, she said she felt she was kicked in the attack, and put her arms in front of her face to protect her.
At the hospital, doctors found the victim sustained a broken nose and several other cuts and bruises.
Police arrested both Lee and Joe and booked them into the Bonneville County Jail.
Lee and Joe are charged with felony aggravated battery. Lee is also charged with misdemeanor giving false information to police.
Although both women are charged with crimes, it does not necessarily mean they committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted of the felony, a judge could order Lee and Joe to spend up to 15 years in prison each.
Both women posted a $30,000 bond and were released from jail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 12.