Jury trial set for man who allegedly tried to strangle a woman

IDAHO FALLS – A local man appeared in court Tuesday after reportedly trying to strangle a woman and sitting on top of her so she couldn’t leave a home.

Brett Anthony Karinen appeared for an arraignment in district court in front of District Judge Dane Watkins Jr. after being charged with felony attempted strangulation and felony battery with intent to commit a serious felony. He pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Karinen is expected to begin his jury trial on March 20.

On Nov. 13, Idaho Falls Police were called to a Bonneville County home after reports of a disturbance.

When police arrived, they saw a silver Chevy Trailblazer parked in front of the apartment. The lights on the car turned on, and the car started driving toward them.

The driver rolled his window down, and police identified him as Karinen.

Police stopped the vehicle, and Karinen got out of the car. He told the officer that he had “been in a verbal argument with (a woman). According to court documents, Karinen said nothing physical happened, and everyone had already left the apartment.

Officers state in the police report that Karinen “had multiple red scratches on his neck and upper chest area.”

The officer asked him how he got the marks, and Karinen responded that he “caused them to himself by grabbing his neck.”

He then told the officer he was going to get in his car, and the officer told him not to. Karinen continued trying to get into the car, so the officer grabbed his arms to prevent him from doing so.

Kerinan was then put in handcuffs and detained.

An officer then went to the apartment to see if anyone was there and found nobody was home. He then called the reporting party, who connected the officer with the victim over the phone.

According to court documents, the victim said Karinen “got physical with her” and reportedly attempted to assault her sexually. When the victim refused to have sex with him, Karinen allegedly “strangled her with his arm on her neck.”

The victim said when Karinen was strangling her, she “relaxed (herself) so (she) could breathe.” According to the victim, Karinen gave her a “hydro pill to help her not feel pain from him hurting her.”

She told police that she saw spots while Karinen was strangling her and that he then sat on top of her chest, keeping her from leaving the room. According to the victim, Karinen did not have clothes on during the alleged assault.

Karinen also reportedly took her phone, preventing her from calling for help. According to police reports, these events happened over the course of three hours.

The victim told officers, “I got claw marks on him from trying to get away.” She also told officers that he “slapped her on her left ear” so hard it caused it to ring.

When the officer spoke to Karinen again, he reportedly said, “he didn’t do anything,” and told the officer about a past disturbance.

Karinen was charged with felony injury to a child, felony second-degree kidnapping, felony domestic battery and a variety of drug charges in 2020 after a domestic violence incident and a two-and-a-half-hour standoff with IFPD patrol officers and the IFPD SWAT team.

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As part of a plea agreement, Karinen pleaded guilty to several charges, and others were dismissed. He was sent to prison and released in June 2021, according to prison records. He is currently on probation.

After speaking with the officer about the most recent incident, Karinen was arrested and booked into the Bonneville County Jail. His bond was set to $45,000. A no-contact order was ordered for the victim.

Karinen is scheduled to appear for a pretrial conference on Feb. 27.

Though Karinen has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

If convicted, he could face up to 35 years in prison.