Bozeman man convicted of 4 felonies in woman’s assault

BOZEMAN (AP) – A Bozeman man charged with attacking a woman acquaintance was convicted Tuesday of aggravated assault and sexual assault along with charges that he attacked a peace officer, possessed dangerous drugs and escaped police custody.

Gallatin County District Judge Mike Salvagni will not schedule a sentencing hearing for Kevin Briggs until a sixth and separate charge for failing to register as a sex offender is tried.

Brigg’s victim, described as an on-again off-again girlfriend, testified that she passed out after drinking a smoothie he served her the night of Jan. 31, 2014, at her apartment.

When she awoke hours later, she said Briggs was on top of her. The woman said that when she asked if he was raping her, Briggs responded, “I’ll show you what real rape is.”

“I thought for sure that I would die,” she told jurors.

The two physically struggled, and Briggs choked her, they said.

Briggs, 29, said they both drank smoothies and injected themselves with the illegal drug etizolam, a drug police later found in a syringe in his backpack. They got in a heated argument, Briggs said, and he put the woman in a chokehold because she threatened him with a knife.

A Bozeman police officer said Briggs punched him in the face and twice tried to flee when police encountered him the next morning.

Briggs was taken into custody, but he walked out of an unlocked interview room at the Law and Justice Center in Bozeman. He led police on a regional manhunt that ended with his arrest three weeks later in Portland, Oregon.

The Gallatin County jury could not agree on the charge of felony attempted sexual intercourse without consent. They convicted Briggs of a lesser offense of sexual assault.

Briggs pleaded not guilty on all charges. His trial lasted four days, and the jury deliberated for 13 hours.

He faces up to 45 years in prison for the convictions.

Briggs was required to register as a sex offender after being convicted of raping his former girlfriend in Helena in 2003 when he was 16 and she was 14.