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Francis Duchaine sentenced to prison for knocking fellow inmate unconscious

Francis Michael Duchaine Jr., 41, was sentenced to three years in prison, with a requirement that he serve 18 months, last week for punching a fellow inmate at the Ward County Jail on July 5, 2018.

According to court documents, Duchaine knocked Alvaro Javier Beltran unconscious and Beltran sustained a concussion and skull fracture. Beltran had admitted to asking Duchaine if he wanted to fight. Duchaine told police Beltran had earlier made remarks about someone having snitched about batteries that had previously been removed from a television remote control and had also made remarks about possibly being in a gang.

Duchaine, who is currently serving a sentence at the North Dakota State Penitentiary, was also sentenced to 18 months supervised probation and ordered to have no contact with the victim. Duchaine must also pay $4,513.80 in restitution and $525 in court costs.

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