A Kalispell man who allegedly stabbed another man’s throat with a box cutter at an eastside Kalispell bar in early April pleaded not guilty Thursday to a felony count of attempted deliberate homicide.
Brockton Lorn Ferguson, 35, entered the plea during an arraignment hearing in Flathead County District Court before Judge Robert B. Allison.
According to charging documents, Kalispell Police Department officers responded to an assault at the Scoreboard Bar in Kalispell on April 5 at 9:30 p.m. where they found a 27-year-old man who had a deep neck wound with his trachea visible and he was coughing up blood.
Prior to the stabbing, witnesses said the man slapped Ferguson across the face. According to court records, the defendant walked away from his aggressor but allegedly returned a short time later, punching the victim and slitting his throat with a box cutter before fleeing the scene.
Officers viewed security camera footage of the assault, which was consistent with witness statements and showed Ferguson stabbing another man’s throat until someone pulled him off the victim, records state.
Law enforcement later located Ferguson, who “made statements to himself about needing to do laundry now after slitting someone’s throat” during his arrest, records state.
Kalispell Fire Department officials transported the victim to Logan Health where he was in stable condition as of April 6.
Ferguson’s bail is set at $250,000 and he remains in Flathead County Detention Center since his arrest on April 6. He is scheduled to stand trial on July 11, and faces a maximum sentence of 100 years in the Montana State Prison.