A pretrial conference was held Thursday in district court in Minot for a man who allegedly drove while his girlfriend was sittng on the hood of his car on July 25 and then ran into her with the car’s bumper.

Jason Nepetakezik Azure, 39, is charged with felony reckless endangerment and could face up to five years in prison if he is convicted.

According to the probable cause affidavit in the case Azure’s 26-year-old girlfriend told police she had been arguing with Azure at an address in southeast Minot. She asked him to drive to the store to get her some cigarettes. As she was waiting for him, she sat on the passenger side front corner of the vehicle’s hood. Azure got into the vehicle, started it, and accelerated forward, tossing her off the hood and onto the ground. Azure then put the vehicle into reverse and then drove forward, striking her with the bumper. The woman told police that she went under the vehicle and her head was right next to the tire. The woman sustained scapes and bruises.

Azure pleaded guilty on July 26 in Minot Municipal Court to simple assault – domestic violence in connection with the incident. He was ordered to complete a domestic violence offenders course and pay court costs and was given a suspended five day jail sentence.

– Andrea Johnson