A Bayfield woman who was run over Friday by her boyfriend – the same man who nearly strangled her six years ago – said she’s going to be stronger this time.
“He’ll wind up killing me, and I just have to smarten up now,” said Janelle Bilyeu, who was released Monday from Mercy Regional Medical Center. “Matters of the heart are really hard to explain.”
Case Fields, 31, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault, false imprisonment and domestic violence. He was being held Monday in the La Plata County Jail without bail.
It is Fields’ second run-in with the law for domestic violence. In 2011, he was sentenced to six years in prison for choking Bilyeu and later bragging that he almost snapped her neck.
In the most recent incident, Fields was driving from south of Ignacio to Bayfield with Bilyeu in the passenger seat when they began arguing about money.
Fields began driving erratically. He was speeding, swerving all over the road and slammed his head into the steering wheel of his 1999 Chevy Silverado multiple times, Bilyeu said.
“I kept asking him to let me go, let the dogs go,” she said Monday during an interview. “He says, ‘The only way that you’re getting out is if you jump out (expletive)!’”
The erratic behavior continued for 20 miles before Fields pulled into a parking spot in downtown Bayfield and jerked the vehicle to a stop in the 100 block of Mill Street.
They continued to argue for about a minute. As Bilyeu exited the truck, Fields put the vehicle in reverse and ran over her right leg with the right front tire, according to an arrest affidavit.
Bilyeu, 43, suffered several fractures to her leg that required a metal rod for support, she said. She also has stitches in her elbow and swelling on her head. Her recovery, with physical therapy, is expected to take six months to 12 months.
In speaking with police, Fields gave a different version of events: He said he was under the impression they were going to return to his house, so he put the truck in reverse, looked over his left shoulder to back up, and didn’t realize Bilyeu had opened the door to get out until he felt the “bump” of the tire roll over the top of her leg, according to the affidavit.
Deputies said skid marks at the scene suggested abrupt turning maneuvers and reckless driving.
“We believe this was done in a reckless way,” said Marshal Joseph McIntyre.
He added: “He (Fields) cooperated with the investigation, we just don’t believe he was truthful in exactly what happened.”
Fields was arrested Jan. 19, 2011, in front of a restaurant in Durango for choking Bilyeu. During a sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented a videophone recording from the jail in which Fields brags to his father about nearly snapping her neck and resisting the urge to kick her in the stomach and kill her.
His public defense lawyer at the time, Justin Bogan, said Fields endured child abuse, and his father came from a background that condoned abusing women. He said Fields was seeking approval from his father.
Bilyeu said Fields was released after serving 3½ years in prison. For a long time, she blamed herself for him having to go to prison, she said. She has been with him for seven years.
“I’m sorry that I went back to him,” she said. “I know that’s my fault, but I tell you, I never thought this would keep going this way. I obviously have a weakness for him, but I have more of a strength. I’m not going to die by the hands of someone who makes love to me.”
shane@durangoherald.com