Casper Man Expected to Get Probation for Breaking Woman’s Back

A Casper man will likely serve probation for a domestic violence incident that left a woman with a broken back in June.

Alec Clifford Chastaine, 47, appeared in Natrona County District Court on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to strangulation of a household member and domestic violence.

The strangulation charge is a felony punishable by up to 10 years behind bars, $10,000 in fines or both.

Instead, Chastaine was given a 3- to 5-year prison sentence which will be suspended. He will serve three years of supervised probation should Judge Kerri M. Johnson agree to the deal.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, police were called to a home in the 1000 block of South Nebraska to assist EMS personnel.

When they arrived, officers found a woman who said she and Chastaine were arguing over an incident earlier in the day in which police were also called.

Recounting the incident, the victim told police that Chastaine grabbed her by the throat, pushing her into a wall in the home's kitchen. She tried to defend herself, but lost consciousness, court documents say.

The victim regained consciousness to Chastaine telling her, "I should have finished you off last night," court records say. Chastaine then punched the victim in her back.

When the victim was taken by ambulance to Wyoming Medical Center, she was treated for bite marks and scrapes on her face. A doctor diagnosed her with having a broken vertebra in her lower back which was the result of Chastaine punching her.

Chastaine said in court Tuesday that he'd been drinking and got into an argument with the victim. Chastaine also said he strangled the victim.

He remains jailed at the Natrona County Detention Center pending a sentencing hearing.