POCATELLO—A 30-year-old American Falls man was recently arrested and charged with numerous felonies after police say he battered a local woman and forced her to temporarily abandon her young children while illegally wielding a firearm.

Casey Gene Blessinger has been charged with two counts of injury to a child, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and domestic battery in the presence of a child, all felonies, according to court records the Idaho State Journal recently obtained.

The incident began to unfold around 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 20 when Pocatello police officers were dispatched to Grand Idaho Inn & Suites on Bench Road after the woman called to report that Blessinger had forced her to leave the room she was renting while her 3- and 4-year-old children were still inside, according to a police report the Journal recently obtained.

Officers responded to the hotel room and had an employee open the door, police said. Inside, officers observed Blessinger initially standing with his hands behind his back before running into the bathroom, police said.

The officers observed what they believed to be a black handgun in Blessinger’s right hand as he ran into the bathroom and then heard the lid to the toilet tank being removed and the sound of something being dropped into the tank, police said.

Blessinger then exited the bathroom and was placed into handcuffs without further incident.

Blessinger denied ever possessing a gun and told police that the sounds from the bathroom were just him sitting down on the toilet, said police, adding that officers located CZ P-10 C 9mm handgun in the toilet tank.

Additionally, the officers located several fentanyl pills and drug paraphernalia in plain sight inside the hotel room, according to the police report.

The woman told officers that Blessinger struck her several times in the face with a closed fist and they observed marks and bruising to her forehead and severe bruising and swelling to her left eye socket, police said.

The woman also said Blessinger had previously beat her, striking her with a belt on her legs and punching her on the arms, hips and thigh area, which were all in various stages of bruising, police said.

Blessinger was subsequently charged, arrested and booked into the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello.

He appeared in front of 6th District Judge David Hooste for an arraignment hearing on Dec. 21, during which his bond was set at $50,000 and a no-contact order was issued between him and the victim.

The victim's family have started an online fundraiser to help her get back on her feet following the ordeal. It's accessible by visiting gofund.me/4d126c7b.

Prosecutors will attempt to prove there is enough evidence against him to elevate the case from the magistrate to district court level for trial during a preliminary hearing set for Jan. 18.

If convicted of all the charges against him, Blessinger faces no less than two and up to 35 years in prison and a fine of up to $115,000.