James Douglas Keffer pleaded not guilty to charges of aggressive assault and endangering the welfare of a child in Lincoln County District Court on Dec. 2.

The 44-year-old Libby resident was arrested after allegedly attacking his mother’s boyfriend during an argument about religion Nov. 8 and then running off into the woods with his nine-year-old son. A short, unsuccessful police search near State Line Drive ensued.

According to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office incident log, the attack occurred shortly before 9:40 p.m. The victim told Sheriff’s Deputy Ben Fisher that the conversation between the two men grew heated after it turned to theology.

The victim said he did not remember being struck. One moment the two men were standing, the next, he was on the floor and unable to breathe, according to the police affidavit.

Keffer allegedly put the victim into a chokehold, court documents said.

“I am going to die, I am going to die, I am going to die,” the victim recounted saying in the affidavit.

Keffer’s mother, Tamara Roberts, told authorities that she was cleaning the kitty litter box when she heard a crash. Checking in on the men, she saw Keffer atop the victim with his arms around his neck, the affidavit said.

Roberts recalled knocking Keffer off the other man and then getting between them. When Keffer headed down to the basement, Roberts loudly announced that she was calling the authorities, according to court documents.

Fisher reported that the victim suffered a cut to the forehead and a bump “the size of a golf ball.”

Authorities believe that Keffer left with his son through the basement before their arrival. Border Patrol Agent Dave Grainger tracked the pair until his K9 jumped a herd of elk.

Fisher ultimately ended the search. Temperatures outside had dropped to 34 degrees and Keffer lacked a driver’s license or a vehicle, meaning the pair were likely on foot. Concerned about the health of the boy, Fisher wrote in the affidavit that they hoped Keffer would bring him someplace warm in the absence of a police search.

The felony aggravated assault charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars and a fine of $50,000. The misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child charge is punishable by a $500 fine and up to six months in jail.

Keffer is scheduled for a bail hearing Dec. 9 and an omnibus hearing Jan. 27.