Grand Forks man accused of breaking into man’s home, beating him up so badly he “feared for his life”

(Valley News Live) -A Grand Forks man is accused of forcing his way into a neighbor’s home and beating the resident so badly he feared for his life.

Police say 52-year-old Joseph Alfred Lavallie went to the home the night of October 5 looking for his girlfriend.

According to the affidavit, the victim said he was in the kitchen when Lavallie came back into the house without permission, told him he “owned” him and punched him several times in the face.

The victim told police Lavallie then hit him in the back of the head with an unknown object, knocking him to the floor, and kept hitting him as he crawled under a table and toward the door.

Court documents say at one point, Lavallie put his foot on the back of the victim’s neck, making it hard to breathe, and causing him to pass out.

He told police he was hit so hard his dentures flew out by the front door and that he was “in fear for his life” according to documents.

Lavallie denied being at the home or assaulting the victim, according to the affidavit. Another witness told police she left for about five minutes and came back to find the victim “beaten up.”

Prosecutors have charged Lavallie with felony burglary at night with a weapon, felony terrorizing an adult victim and hindering law enforcement for allegedly providing false information.