Man sentenced for Watershed Festival assault in August

GEORGE — A man who choked his daughter and knocked out a man during the Watershed Festival at the Gorge Amphitheater in August was sentenced to serve 40 hours of community service.

William Treadaway, 43, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to fourth-degree assault. Treadaway was sentenced to a total of 364 days in jail, with 359 days suspended for two years and the remaining five days converted to 40 hours of community service to be served at a rate of 10 hours a month under the supervision of a Department of Corrections work crew. Treadaway was initially charged with second-degree assault-domestic violence (strangulation, suffocation), but the charge was amended in a plea agreement between the prosecution and defense.

The sentence relates to an incident during the Watershed Festival in early August. The Grant County Sheriff’s Office regularly has deputies at the Gorge Amphitheater during events and on Aug. 4 received a report of a domestic violence incident at the campground check-in kiosk, according to court documents.

The female victim told police her father, Treadaway, choked her until she had passed out. The victim said Treadaway grabbed her around the neck and she claimed she tried to tell him to stop.

“I asked if she was able to break away from him when she was choking him and she stated no, she was not able to break free,” wrote a deputy.

In addition to assaulting his daughter, Treadaway also assaulted a man who was in the area as well. The male victim, who did not wish to pursue criminal charges against Treadaway, said he was walking with a group of people toward where the female victim was and Treadaway walked up to him and “punched him knocking him completely unconscious.”

Treadaway was contacted by deputies and he admitted to punching the male, but said the victim “came at him” and he had to protect himself so he punched him in the face. With regard to the assault against his daughter, Treadaway claimed he was mad at her for drinking alcohol. He admitted to grabbing her by her shoulders, but he claimed he didn’t think he choked her and said he would never hurt his daughter.

“William stated several times that he didn’t really know what he did and appeared somewhat confused at times during the conversation about what actually occurred between him and his daughter,” wrote a deputy. “I noticed William was under the influence of alcohol and (he) admitted (to) consuming alcohol throughout the day.”

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at rbyrd@columbiabasinherald.com.