A 26-year-old Evanston man accused of putting a loaded gun to his ex-girlfriend’s head and holding her captive for three days pleaded no contest Wednesday to a laundry list of criminal charges.
The 28-year-old woman had a restraining order against James A. Biorn for the Aug. 29 incident. She also was scheduled to testify against him for trying to strangle her months earlier on Feb. 8. That incident led to a protection order for the woman.
Biorn, who appeared before Uinta County District Court Judge James Kaste, entered a plea deal involving both cases with Uinta County prosecutor Loretta Howieson Kallas.
His no contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt, but acknowledges there was evidence to convict. It covers charges of strangulation of a household member; aggravated assault and battery; influencing, intimidating or impeding jurors, judges, witnesses and officers; false imprisonment; domestic battery; and interference with a police officer.
Kallas agreed to drop charges of domestic battery from the February case, and from the August case two counts of violating a protection order and a possession of meth charge.
First Case
Court records show the February charges stemmed from an incident in Lyman, Wyoming, where the 28-year-old woman was picked up by Biorn in a vehicle.
He started yelling at her about who she had been talking to on her phone, according to an affidavit filed in the case. She told police she thought about jumping from the car at 55 mph.
When the car came to stop, she reached for her purse to get out and Biorn grabbed her by her hair, pulled her over the center console and “put his hand over her mouth and nose,” the affidavit states.
“(The victim) said he couldn’t breathe and felt ‘wobbly,’ and at some point urinated in her pants,” the affidavit states.
Biorn drove the car to a storage area, where she was able to get in the driver’s seat and get to the police department to report the incident.
Then Again
On Aug. 29, with a protection order in place against Biorn, the woman reported that he held her against her will inside a Chevy Cobalt on Jupiter Drive in Mountain View.
“During this time, James had held a loaded pistol to her head threatening to kill her and then himself,” the affidavit states. “James further threatened that he would shoot the cops if they intervened.”
The affidavit states that Biorn had punched the woman in the face causing damage to her lip.
The woman said Biorn had allowed her to go to work and she called the police.
She told the investigating Uinta County Sheriff’s Office deputy that she was “terrified for her life” and afraid of retaliation if he found out she reported the incident.
The woman advised the deputy that he was likely asleep in the car in front of the Mountain View home. Deputies went to the residence, found him asleep in the car, and after his arrest found a pistol inside his pants.
“James denied knowing it was there,” the affidavit states. They also found a hypodermic needle in his sock.
Biorn told officers he had been in an argument with the woman and denied it was physical.
When asked if he had “laid hands” on the woman over the past 72 hours, he told officers he was not aware of it.
He agreed he may not have been aware of what he was doing because he was “high.”
Police found a baggie inside the glove compartment of the vehicle that contained meth.
As part of the plea deal, the prosecutor will recommend Biorn receive:
• Prison time of 18-36 months for the strangulation charge from Feb. 8.
•Three to eight years for the aggravated assault charge from Aug. 29.
•Four to seven years for the witness intimidation charge from Aug. 29.
•A range of 328-365 days for the false imprisonment charge from Aug. 29.
•A range of 162-180 days for the domestic battery charge from Aug. 29.
•A range of 328-365 days for the interference with a peace officer charge from Aug. 29.
Kallas in the plea deal agreed to let Biorn argue for youthful offender status which would allow him to attend the Wyoming Department of Corrections boot camp, but added that her office “asserts these acts of violence are not consistent with the purposes of the program.”
Court records show that Kaste ordered a pre-sentence investigation.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
