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Aggravated assault charge to be dismissed against Todd Graves, Minot, after girlfriend says she lied

A Class C felony aggravated assault charge was to be dismissed Thursday against Todd Graves, 34, of Minot, after his girlfriend testified that she lied when she told police Graves had strangled her.

The woman, identified in the affidavit of probable cause filed with the court as Rashell Jones, had told police that Graves put his hand around her neck, pushed her up against a door and slapped her across the face.

“I made up a lot of things that I said because he has an alcohol addiction problem,” Jones testified Thursday.

She said she was angry and disappointed with Graves because she had come home and he was “belligerent drunk” and that was why she had lied to the police. She said she always gets red blotch marks on her neck when she is angry, and that is why police noted that she had marks on her neck. She testified Thursday that her voice was hoarse after the incident because she had been yelling and screaming.

Jones also testified that she knows she can be charged for making a false report to the police. She said she recanted her story because she felt guilty.

Graves was then arrested in the courtroom on Thursday for allegedly violating a no contact order preventing him from contacting Jones. The no contact order was in effect because of the aggravated assault charge.

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