POLSON - The day his jury trial on a charge of deliberate homicide was set to begin, defendant Allen Metzger came to the Lake County District Courtroom not to defend himself, but rather to change his plea to a lesser charge.

Metzger, 52, of Ronan, entered an Alford plea to the charge of negligent homicide, an offense that carries the possibility of up to 20 years in prison and/or a $50,000 fine. An Alford plea is similar to a guilty plea, but means the defendant still asserts their innocence, but believes the prosecution could convince a jury of guilt with the evidence that exists. He also entered an Alford plea to the misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon in a prohibited place.

As part of the plea agreement, Lake County Attorney Mitch Young, on behalf of the state, will recommend seven years in the Montana State Prison with all that time suspended. It will be the decision of the presiding judge, Judge Nels Swandel, to determine the actual punishment at Metzger's sentencing hearing in the coming weeks. Swandel will not be allowed to sentence him above the seven years, but could go below the state's recommended sentence, Young said.

"We will obviously be prepared to present our point of view on it," Young said, noting that both the prosecution and defense will be allowed to present evidence at the sentencing hearing.

Metzger, who spent three months in the Lake County Jail before being released on bail in late November 2009, was contrite and soft-spoken at his Monday afternoon hearing, replying "yes, sir" to Judge Swandel's questions, and pleading "no contest" to the negligent homicide charge and carrying a concealed weapon in a prohibited place. Swandel, of Livingston, has presided over the case for the last several months after Lake County District Court Judges C.B. McNeil and Kim Christopher were substituted for.

Metzger's attorney, Lance Jasper, was happy with the plea agreement, as a jury finding Metzger guilty of a deliberate homicide charge could have led to a death sentence or life in prison.

"We had a good case, but he has a young daughter who is 11," Jasper said after the hearing. "A few years probation for something like this is a good business decision, and actually what he ended up taking was a very good business decision. We're happy we entered this, but it's not over yet."

The speculation will finally be put to bed once Metzger is actually sentenced, which could be in early May, nearly a year after the altercation that landed Metzger in trouble with the law. The charges stemmed from an incident in August 2009, when Metzger stabbed James Finch, 50, one time with a 5-inch blade in the bathroom of the Valley Club Bar in Ronan. Finch died as a result of his injury, leading to Metzger's arrest and subsequent charge of deliberate homicide. The case became bogged down with motions to dismiss and judicial substitution requests filed by the defense, though all may have had validity. Young said his office took the filings seriously, and that they impacted his decisions in the plea agreement.

"One of the potential problems of the case from the beginning was the new law putting the burden on the state to prove beyond a reasonable that it wasn't self defense," he said, referring to Montana House Bill No. 228. "The defendant may have been entitled to use force, but was negligent in using a weapon in the manner he did."