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Man Pleads Not Guilty in Ronan Bar Death

By Beacon Staff

POLSON – A 52-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide and to carrying a concealed weapon in a prohibited place after a stabbing in the bathroom of a Ronan bar.

Allen Metzger of Ronan appeared in court Wednesday for the Aug. 16 stabbing death of 50-year-old James Finch. Charging documents say Metzger told officers Finch hit him over the head in the bathroom of the Valley Club and Bar so he pulled out a knife and swung it.

Metzger’s attorney, Lance Jasper, says he plans to request $25,000 bail for his client because he was acting in self defense. The attorney says a law signed by Gov. Brian Schweitzer changes the rules in such cases.

Instead of Metzger having to prove he acted to protect himself from death or serious injury, Jasper says, “the burden has shifted to the state” to prove he did not.