POLSON – A 32-year-old Browning man has been found guilty of stabbing a Polson man to death during a racially charged encounter outside a house party in Polson in March 2013.
Jurors on Monday found Makueeyapee Whitford guilty of killing 26-year-old John Pierre Jr. of Polson.
The defense argued that Pierre asked Whitford about his tribal affiliation and then attacked him after learning he was from the Blackfeet Reservation. Defense attorneys said Whitford was defending himself.
Prosecutors argued Whitford was not defending himself or anyone else when he stabbed Pierre then fled the party.
Court records say the knife nicked Pierre’s aorta and pulmonary artery and he bled to death.