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Man sentenced in "heartbreaking" domestic case

Posted at 4:23 PM, Feb 12, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-12 18:37:32-05

A Nampa man was sentenced Friday in Caldwell after authorities say he violated a no-contact order then beat, strangled, and threatened his victim at knifepoint, putting her in a choke-hold until she lost consciousness.

Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor said Damien Lindahl, 29, of Nampa, was sentenced by Judge George Southworth for the felony crimes of aggravated assault and domestic violence. 

Lindahl was sentenced to two years fixed, followed by three years indeterminate, on an aggravated assault charge -- and two years fixed, followed by eight years indeterminate, on a domestic violence charge.  The sentences will run concurrent. 

Judge Southworth further ordered Lindahl to have no contact with the victim for the duration of the sentence.  Lindahl was also ordered to pay a $1,000 in fines and court costs.  

Lindahl was arrested by officers of the Nampa Police Department in October, 2015, after they were dispatched to a physical disturbance at a Nampa home involving Lindahl and a female victim. The victim told officers her estranged husband, Lindahl, had beaten, strangled, and threatened her with a knife prior to their arrival. The victim said, at one point, Lindahl put her in a choke-hold until she lost consciousness. 

She told officers Lindahl had also threatened to “cut her tongue out” with a knife and had threatened to kill her on five or six occasions in the past. 

During an interview with police, Lindahl later admitted to fighting with the victim for 45 minutes to an hour before police arrived. He also admitted to abusing methamphetamine at the time.  

At the time of his October 2015 arrest, Lindahl was on probation for a felony no-contact order violation and a felony charge for possession of a controlled substance.  

“This case is heartbreaking in a sense because Mr. Lindahl shouldn’t have been able to get close enough to the victim for something like this to happen,” Taylor said. “No-contact orders are put in place for a reason -– to ensure the safety and security of an individual from potential harm caused by another individual.  But as this case illustrates, sometimes things slip through the cracks.  That’s why it’s our job in the Prosecutor’s Office to ensure that criminals like Mr. Lindahl are held accountable for repeatedly breaking the law.”