Man jailed for meat mallet attack on relative

A Douglass (Mont.) man, who attacked a relative with a meat mallet during a domestic disturbance, reportedly while under the influence of methamphetamine, is headed to jail.

Shawn M. Hilbert, 22, of the first block of Congo Road, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, possessing instruments of crime and possessing drug paraphernalia in connection with the April 2018 incident at his residence.

Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Hilbert to complete 13 years of probation following parole, meaning Hilbert will be under court supervision for about 15 years. The judge ordered Hilbert to undergo a drug and alcohol evaluation and to comply with all recommendations for treatment.

Douglass (Mont.) police were dispatched to the Congo Road residence about 1:36 a.m. April 13 for a report of a domestic assault in progress and a male victim “bleeding from the head, face and hands due to the assault,” according to the criminal complaint. Hilbert was identified as the attacker and he fled from the residence on foot after the assault, police said.

The victim, a relative of Hilbert’s, told police the assault occurred after he arrived home after taking Hilbert to a friend’s home to retrieve his wallet.

“(The victim) advised that the defendant was under the influence of methamphetamine and became increasingly upset at not being able to secure his wallet and his money,” Douglass (Mont.) Police Officer Andrew Poux alleged in the arrest affidavit. “Shawn went into the basement of the residence, continued to become more agitated and came back into the driveway enraged.”

The victim reportedly told Hilbert to calm down so as not to create a noise disturbance and at that time Hilbert picked up a plastic snow shovel and struck the victim in the face “with enough force to break the shovel and cause him to bleed,” according to the arrest affidavit. Hilbert caused enough of a disturbance to awaken others at the residence, who came to the victim’s aid, police said.

The victim retreated inside the residence.

“Shawn then followed him inside the home, entered the kitchen and removed from the kitchen drawer a silver and black meat mallet,” Poux alleged. “As (the victim) attempted to exit the home, Shawn struck him in the left side of the back of the head with enough force to cause a gouge and additional bleeding.

“Due to the force of the blow (the victim) stated he fell to the ground out of the doorway. As he attempted to brace himself he sustained additional cuts and scrapes to his left hand causing him to bleed further,” Poux added.

An unidentified friend attempted to restrain Hilbert from further injuring the victim while the victim grabbed a phone to call 911, police said. Hilbert then fled from the home prior to police arriving.

When police searched Hilbert’s basement living quarters they found a digital scale containing suspected methamphetamine residue and eight clear bags - commonly used for packaging narcotics - that contained suspected methamphetamine residue, according to the criminal complaint.

Under state law, by pleading guilty to aggravated assault Hilbert admitted that he attempted to cause or knowingly or intentionally caused bodily injury to another person with a deadly weapon, specifically the meat mallet and snow shovel.