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Helena man charged with aggravated assault after weekend fight

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HELENA — A Helena man has been charged with aggravated assault, after a fight over the weekend left another man with serious head injuries.

21-year-old Jesse James Lantz made an initial appearance Monday in Lewis and Clark County Justice Court.

According to court documents, Helena police responded to the Walking Mall Saturday night for a report of a combative man, later identified as the victim, outside a bar. The documents say Lantz approached an officer, saying the victim had tried to fight him earlier.

Officers said, after they were dealt with another incident in the same area, they found someone had punched the victim and left him unconscious. According to documents, they found the fight was recorded on a dashcam video system, and they determined Lantz had hit the victim, causing him to fall to the ground.

Court documents say the victim was taken by ambulance to St. Peter’s Health. They say he had bleeding in the brain and eventually had to be airlifted.

Justice of the Peace Mike Swingley released Lantz on his own recognizance Monday, but ordered him not to use drugs or alcohol, to have no contact with the victim and to sign up for pretrial services.