Man pleads not guilty in Polson hammer attack

POLSON, Mont. (AP) - A Polson man accused of attacking his brother-in-law and father-in-law with a hammer earlier this month has pleaded not guilty.

Desmond Alan Mackay appeared in district court in Polson on Thursday. KERR-AM reports he pleaded not guilty to an amended charge of deliberate homicide as well as two counts of assault with a weapon.

Prosecutors say Mackay waited by a door to a garage with the hammer on March 5, intending to assault his brother-in-law Jesse Waugh, who he believed owed him money. However, his father-in-law John Barrows walked through the door first. He was struck in the head and later died of his injuries, leading prosecutors to add the deliberate homicide charge.

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Information from: KERR-AM, https://www.750kerr.com/