Churchill Pleads Guilty to Assault

DAYTON – Dayton man Andrew J. Churchill, 43, pleaded guilty to multiple domestic violence assault charges last Friday in Columbia County Superior Court and was sentenced to seven months in county jail.

Churchill was arrested in January after witnesses at Blue Mountain Station stated he’d pulled a gun on an adult male family member in the back parking lot where he and his wife operated a business selling items at the Port of Columbia facility just west of Dayton. According to the arresting documents, Churchill did not fire the gun but did finally put it away; witnesses then saw him assault that same man before driving away. Prior to the parking lot confrontation, court documents state Churchill may have physically assaulted his wife at their business.

On Friday, Churchill pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree assault-domestic violence, a Class B felony and strike offense, and one count of third-degree assault-domestic violence, a Class C felony, according to Columbia County Prosecutor Rea Culwell.

In addition to jail time, the judge also ordered Churchill to complete a domestic violence batterer’s treatment program, which usually lasts a year, Culwell said. He also may not possess firearms and cannot be at Blue Mountain Station or on Port of Columbia property without permission.