Pocatello woman charged after allegedly beating man, fracturing facial bones

POCATELLO — A woman police say attacked a man in a local bar faces a felony charge.

Chelsie Dawn Johnson, 31, has been charged with aggravated battery using deadly force upon a person, court records show.

Pocatello police received a call reporting an incident at a bar on West Clark Street around 2 a.m. on Oct. 22, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The caller told officers a man had fallen off a bar stool and suffered injuries.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found a man with “severe injuries” to his face and head, including a “large laceration.” Both eyes were swollen shut, the affidavit says.

Johnson approached the officers, claiming the injured man had attacked her with a knife. She showed the officers a two-inch cut on her left shin, according to the affidavit.

Officers requested Johnson’s ID card, which she provided. But, the affidavit says, Johnson grew “agitated” with the officer and investigation, and grabbed the ID card from the officer’s hand.

Johnson was cited for obstructing an officer and taken to Portneuf Medical Center to be cleared before she was placed under arrest.

While the officer was at PMC with Johnson, one of the other officers who had been investigating the incident provided the first officer with security footage from the bar.

According to police reports, the footage showed Johnson and the injured man standing near each other talking amongst themselves at the bar. Johnson can then be seen punching the man in the face.

The man did not move to retaliate and Johnson struck him again.

After the second blow, the man moved toward Johnson but was grabbed by another woman at the bar. The second pushed the man away from Johnson toward a pool table in the center of the bar.

Johnson moved towards the man, who pulled a knife from his pocket, the affidavit says. The man swung the knife at Johnson, who was pulled away by other bar patrons.

Johnson eventually broke free from the man and woman who were holding her back and struck the man again. When the man fell to the ground, the affidavit says Johnson straddled him and hit him repeatedly — approximately 10 times — with both hands and her left elbow.

Bystanders were able to pull Johnson from the man, who can then be seen laying motionless on the ground, according to the affidavit.

The man was taken to PMC and, according to the affidavit, had to be intubated due to his having difficulty breathing. He was also treated for a six-inch cut to the top of his head and a fractured orbital socket — the bones surrounding and protecting the eye.

Officers spoke with Johnson after she was medically cleared. She was allegedly “irate” after being informed of her arrest. She was “argumentative and condescending” and continuously interrupted officers attempting to explain to her what was going on, calling the officer a “b****.”

She was eventually released from the hospital and taken to Bannock County Jail, where she was booked and is being held.

Though Johnson has been charged with this crime, it does not necessarily mean she committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

If she is found guilty, Johnson could face up to 15 years in prison.

She is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing before Magistrate Judge Todd Garbett on Nov. 2.