Weekend crime roundup: man charged for stomping on man’s head in alley; man charged for carrying gun near mall; woman charged for hitting another in the head with a rock

Ethaniel Pherigo, 19 has been charged with a felony count of aggravated assault for allegedly stomping on a man’s head repeatedly during a Sept. 8 incident.

The victim is not expected to survive, according to Cascade County Josh Racki, and if that occurs, the state will amend the charges accordingly.

Police are still investigating the incident, but have identified the victim and notified his next of kin. Identification took some time because the suspects took the victim’s belongings and he was found without identification, Racki said.

Great Falls Police officers responded to the alley behind City Bar at 709 Central Ave. around 10 p.m. Sept. 8 for a report of a possible disturbance.

Officers arrived on scene and a bar employee said there had been a group of about eight people fighting and then walked with a suspect identified as EB, who Racki said is 14, down the alley.

Officers went down the alley in the direction EB had been seen walking and found a male lying unconscious in a pool of blood, according to charging documents.

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The victim was transported to the emergency room with blunt force trauma to the head, according to court documents.

Officers searched the area for people matching the descriptions from witnesses and located the property manager for nearby apartments. The manager had a video of the incident showing the victim walking with EB down the alley and a group of young adults walking behind him. The video shows the group throwing the victim to the ground and two males stomping on his head, according to court documents.

The video shows Pherigo stomp on the victim’s head while the victim was face down on the ground and then rummage through his pockets while a second male continued to stomp on the victim’s head, according to court documents.

One of the males was identified as Pherigo, who was booking into the Cascade County Adult Detention Center on a $250,000 bond.

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Caleb Norrup, 29, has been charged with a felony count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct for a Sept. 7 incident with an airsoft gun.

Around 11 a.m. on Sept. 7, a caller reported to dispatch that a male was acting suspicious and brandishing a rifle in the 1200 block of 9th Street South. The called reported that the male, identified as Norrup, was pointing the rifle at passing cars in the area.

Great Falls Police officers were unable to find the suspect at the time, but dispatch received another call a few minutes later of a male matching the same description in the area of the mall carrying a long gun.

The caller informed police that she saw the male making erratic movements with the rifle and pointing it around. She told police she was worried the male might commit a mass shooting at the mall, according to charging documents.

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While an officer was searching the area of Scheels and Ross, a female waved him over and said she’d seen a male around the corner who appeared to be carrying a rifle.

The officer located Norrup and saw him pull what looked like a rifle from behind his back. The officer chirped his siren and shouted at Norrop, who didn’t not acknowledge the officer.

Another officer observed Norup inset a magazine into the rifle as he walked across 13th Street South toward the gas station.

An officer activated his siren and exited his vehicle with his duty rifle, at which point Norrup placed the rifle he was carrying on the sidewalk, obeying officer commands.

Norrup told officers he’d found the rifle in a bush and wanted to play with it because it was a toy gun, according to charing documents. Norrup said he wasn’t pointing the gun at anyone specifically but was just “playing SWAT.”

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The officer could smell alcohol on Norrup, who has an outstanding city warrant for disorderly conduct and multiple other misdemeanor convictions, according to court documents.

During a search of his belongings, officers found methamphetamine.

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Nevaeh Decelles-Guardipee, 19, was charged with a felony count of assault with a weapon and a misdemeanor count of possessing intoxicating substances while under 21 for a Sept. 8 incident in the 500 block of 5th Avenue South.

According to court documents, Decelles-Gardipee had approached the victim upset about a vehicle, pushed the victim to the ground, punched her in the head, then grabbed a large rock and hit the victim in the head.

Officers reviewed security footage and spoke with witnesses and those corroborated the victim’s account.

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Officers found Decelles-Gardipee hiding below a staircase on the block and detained her. She appeared intoxicated and admitted to drinking, but denied hitting the victim with a rock, according to court documents.

Decelles-Gardipee became unresponsive while being taken into custody and told officers she’d taken six fentanyl pills. Responders administered Narcan and she was transported to the hospital where she refused treatment.

County attorneys wrote in their charging document that they’d normally request bond for her since she lives next door to the victim, but due to the medical emergency, cited her and released her on her own recognizance. She has three other pending criminal matters, according to court documents.