Man attacks wife twice over money, gets prison time

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A Baxter County man arrested twice in a five-month time span for attacking his wife over money had three years of his 10-year probation sentence handed down in the first attack case revoked, meaning he will spend time in the state prison system.

The original case was filed the first of this year.

Fifty-six-year-old Mark Fidler changed his plea to true or guilty on charges of violating the terms and conditions of his probation during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court last Thursday.

Charges stemming from the new attack triggered the revocation in the initial case.

The revocation petition was filed June 5.

Fidler was first arrested in late December 2018 when he allegedly attacked his wife after she refused him money to purchase methamphetamine.

He was reported to have done damage to the home, threatened her with a pistol and struck her. A Baxter County deputy sheriff reported the woman had a large bleeding lump on the side of her forehead.

Fidler, who was reported to be highly intoxicated, fled the residence before the deputy arrived, but was picked up by an Izard County deputy as he was traveling toward Calico Rock.

When Fidler appeared on the initial charge, his wife made an emotional plea for leniency. She said the couple had been together 30 years. She told the court tensions between the two had grown since moving to Arkansas. She said her husband “dragged me down here,” and she disliked, “living in the woods.”

She said because of the tension, tempers often flared.

An argument over money also resulted in the latest charges against Fidler. He was alleged to have come to their home along County Road 74, which apparently violated a no contact order. The wife said Fidler became angry when she refused to give him money.

She said he shoved her and hit her on the right side of her head and face. She told the responding Baxter County deputy sheriff she had gone into a bedroom, put a dresser in front of the door and called 911.

The deputy reported seeing a red handprint on her right temple and said her cheek was swollen and red. She also had a red cut or bruise under the right eye. She told the deputy the injury was caused when Fidler knocked her glasses off.

As with the first incident, Fidler, who was again reported to be drunk, fled the home in a vehicle. He was found driving on County Road 73. He refused to stop, and the deputy reported Fidler was driving back and forth across the road from ditch-to-ditch and almost wrecked several times.

The vehicle’s engine finally died. The deputy said Fidler had to be pulled from the truck and then tased to get him on the ground.

Fidler still faces charges in a case stemming from the latest domestic dustup between him and his wife.

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