Malad man charged with rape, battery on an officer
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MALAD CITY — A man police say raped a woman by force, then kicked and spat on officers during his arrest, faces multiple felony charges.
David Scott Lepich, 59, has been charged with felonies of rape and aggravated battery on law enforcement personnel and a misdemeanor for resisting arrest, court records show.
Oneida County sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a disturbance at a rural home on 30 East 90 South in Malad, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Upon arrival, deputies spoke with Lepich, who said the allegations of rape against him were false, and said a family member of the victim “popped (him) upside the head.”
Deputies then asked Lepich what occurred leading to his calling the sheriff’s office. He said he was at his home and saw the man who eventually hit him. He said he approached the man and called him a “fat motherf***er,” then the man hit him on the head with a club.
Police reports note Lepich did have “blood-soaked hair” on the top-left side of his head and wound that appeared to be actively bleeding.
Deputies then spoke with a female at the scene. She said Lepich raped her, so she called her family member who arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. She said her family member did hit Lepich, but only after Lepich struck the family member.
The family member admitted to hitting Lepich in the rib with a club after Lepich hit him in the head, then provided the club to deputies. The club is described in police reports as a fiberglass axe handle.
Deputies noted the left side of the man’s face was red and swollen.
The victim then provided deputies with details about the rape.
She said that Lepich raped her by force, despite her attempts to fight him off. She told deputies that, during the attack, Lepich told her “he liked it,” “she wanted it” and that “he wasn’t going to stop,” the affidavit says.
The victim was asked to go to the hospital for a rape kit examination.
Deputies then attempted to place Lepich under arrest, but he struggled and attempted to pull away from the deputies, calling them “motherf***ers.”
Lepich kicked and yelled as he was being escorted to patrol cruiser. At the cruiser, Lepich kicked the door while telling the deputies to “f*** off” and “take the cuffs off, b****.”
During a pat down, Lepich kicked one of the deputies, according to the affidavit. When he was informed that constituted battery, he allegedly responded “Good.”
As deputies were assisting Lepich into the cruiser, he spit on one of them while continuing the vulgar name-calling.
Despite Lepich’s injury, EMTs were not called for examination due to his belligerent behavior. Instead, Lepich was taken to Caribou County Hospital to be medially cleared before he was transported to Caribou County Jail for booking.
Though Lepich has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.
If he is found guilty, Lepich would face up to life in prison.
He is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing before Magistrate Judge David Hooste on April 11.