Pocatello man set for sentencing after pleading guilty to 2022 knife attack
Published at
POCATELLO — A man who pleaded guilty to a felony charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon is scheduled for sentencing next week.
Burke Ryan Bailey, 47, pleaded guilty after reaching a plea agreement with the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office. In exchange, a deadly weapon enhancement has been dismissed.
Bailey is scheduled to appear before District Judge Javier Gabiola for sentencing on March 11.
RELATED | Pocatello man charged after allegedly slicing man’s face in grocery store parking lot
Bailey was arrested in August 2022 when officers responding to reports of a disturbance at a grocery store on Yellowstone Avenue found a man with a knife wound on his face. In police reports, officers described the wound as being 8 inches long and near the victim’s eye.
The victim and a witness told officers that Bailey approached them in the parking lot and yelled at them. When the victim approached Bailey, both said Bailey turned around while saying “Take that, f***er,” and slashed the man’s face.
The victim was taken to hospital by EMS.
Bailey, who had left before police arrived, was arrested later the same night. Officers found him trying to escape through the backyard of his home.
In an email to EastIdahoNews.com, a man who identified himself as Bailey’s brother provided court documents for charges Bailey received in Oklahoma. In his email, the man pleads for Bailey to receive the maximum sentence — 15 years.
“My personal safety, my family’s personal safety, my extended family’s personal safety is at dire risk,” the email says. “In addition, I strongly urge Bannock County, Idaho, to contact Washington County, Oklahoma, to inquire if, once Burke completes his sentence in Idaho, he be transferred to Oklahoma to finish his felony sentence there.”
Bailey’s plea deal does not include an agreed-upon sentence.
In addition to sentencing, the prosecution has already filed a restitution request — for $1,344 to be paid to the victim and another $687.40 to be paid to the Idaho Industrial Commission.