Woman placed on probation for attack outside Idaho Falls bar
Published at | Updated at
IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls woman will spend a year on probation for her role in the attack of another woman outside a local bar.
Sheila Ann Lee, 43, pleaded guilty on May 6 to misdemeanor battery and giving false information to law enforcement. Magistrate Judge Mark Riddoch subsequently placed Lee on probation, while suspending 87 days of a 90-day jail sentence. Lee already spent three days behind bars after her arrest in January.
Prosecutors initially charged Lee with felony aggravated battery and the misdemeanor false information charge. However, as part of a plea agreement, prosecutors reduced the felony to misdemeanor battery.
Idaho Falls Police reports show Lee and her daughter, Sierra Joe, attacked a woman outside Ford’s Bar on A Street in January. Lee told police the beating happened after the victim allegedly spit on her while inside the bar.
RELATED | Mother and daughter accused of beating woman outside Idaho Falls bar
Everyone’s accounts of the attack differ. At first, Joe and Lee denied ever being inside the bar, but then changed their story.
Joe claimed 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 claimed 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 sweatshirt 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.
Joe reached a similar plea agreement in March and was placed on probation.
In addition to the time on probation, Riddoch also ordered Lee to pay $457.50 in fees and fines, according to court records.