Update: On Oct. 21, Barnes pleaded not guilty to the charges she’s facing.
A Havre woman faces a felony charge for allegedly lying about being beaten by a former boyfriend.
Kodi Barnes is charged with felony tampering with or fabricating physical evidence, two counts, and misdemeanor charges of making false reports to law enforcement and criminal trespass to property. She was arrested Thursday and is listed in the Hill County Detention Center on a $5,000 bond.
Here’s what happened, according to charging documents:
On Sept. 11, Havre police officers responded to Northern Montana Hospital to investigate a report of domestic abuse.
Barnes told police she was a victim of physical abuse at the hands of a man with whom she had a relationship.
Barnes told police she entered the man’s home on Sept. 9 and he “flipped out” on her. She said two other people were in the home at the time.
Barnes told police the man got “in her face,” grabbed her arm, shoved her and pushed her toward the door. She also accused the man of grabbing her by the neck and pushing her against the wall. Barnes showed officers bruises on her back and inside her arms, claiming the man caused them.
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Police then went to the accused man’s residence, where the incident was supposed to have happened.
The person who answered the door told police that Barnes and the man had been broken up at the time. He said Barnes barged in the house and was upset because the man had another woman over. Barnes then kicked in her former boyfriend’s bedroom door.
She was eventually escorted out of the residence.
The person speaking to police said there was no fighting, “just a lot of yelling and Barnes crying.”
Police then spoke to the accused, who was at his place of employment.
The man told police he asked Barnes to move out about a week before the incident. As for the incident, Barnes yelled and cussed after seeing him with another woman. He said he never touched Barnes and added he had no idea where her bruises came from.
Three witnesses to the incident, including the person police spoke to at the house and the woman the man was with, provided statements that corroborated the man’s narrative, police say.
Email Paul Dragu at [email protected]
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