A Bozeman man could now face up to a total of 25 years in prison after Gallatin County Sheriff’s detectives say he held his girlfriend hostage and strangled her.
According to Gallatin County court documents and prosecutors, Justin Luckey, 25, is accused of kidnapping and, on at least three different instances, strangling the victim.
“This is an extremely abusing, controlling relationship between the defendant and the victim,” prosecutor Bjorn Boyer with the Gallatin County Attorney’s Office said during Luckey’s initial appearance in Justice Court on Monday.
It’s a case that Boyer says he’s seen before with Luckey.
“Your Honor, I believe that this victim was in extreme danger,” Boyer said.
According to court documents, Gallatin County Sheriff’s detectives contacted Luckey’s girlfriend, uncovering a disturbing timeline that took place over the course of several months.
Those same court documents show, at one point, the victim’s father told detective’s that Luckey’s family had threatened to kill her.
“She applied for an Order of Protection,” Boyer said. “An Order of Protection was granted to her,” which, according to court documents, was broken last on April 3.
Detectives pulled Luckey over, with court documents showing the victim was with him and, through investigation, detectives say more was learned, dating back to January.
“I had a request for prosecution against this defendant that I believed I received in early January for strangulation,” Boyer said.
The prosecutor noted the documents, pointing out how Luckey was in court in December of last year.
That case is still in progress within the courts.
“I continue to believe that this victim is in an extreme amount of danger at the hands of this defendant,” Boyer said. “He’s already violated the Order of Protection that was put in place. I don’t think a piece of paper, if you will, is going to stop this defendant from trying to have contact with the victim.”
"We really don't know whether or not those statements were true,” responded Luckey’s public defender over speakerphone during Justice Court proceedings.
In the end, Judge Rick West's decision weighed on the past accused offenses.
Judge West set Luckey's bail at $250,000 and ordered him not to come within 1,500 feet of the victim or her family.
