The Washington man accused of stabbing a local man multiple times on a walking path in 2018 likely will spend the next 40 years in the custody of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.

Michael Anthony Borchardt-Robertson, 26, pleaded nolo contendere to an attempted deliberate homicide charge in Lincoln County District Court on May 17 as part of a deal with prosecutors. The no contest plea means Borchardt-Robertson, who prosecutors acknowledge suffered from a mental disease or disorder at the time of the attack, accepted the terms of the deal without admitting guilt.

Authorities arrested Borchardt-Robertson soon after the Nov. 11, 2018, attack. According to court documents, personnel from the Libby Police Department and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident. When they met up with the victim at a local medical center, he told them that an unknown man stabbed him near the Big Horn Terrace Area. He escaped after using bear spray on his attacker.

While police questioned the victim, who had suffered multiple stab wounds to the abdomen and a punctured lung, deputies headed back to the scene. About a half-mile down the trail, they bumped into Borchardt-Robertson.

According to court documents, Borchardt-Robertson told investigators that he witnessed the fight. He tried to intervene, he said, but fled. The two men looked aggressive, he said.

But investigators noticed telltale signs of bear spray on Borchardt-Robertson. In an affidavit, they reported that he exhibited watery, red eyes. His skin appeared red and agitated. They also noticed dirt and debris on the back of his neck and shirt, according to court documents.

Other searchers, including a team from David Thompson Search and Rescue and a Two Bear Air Rescue helicopter, failed to turn up anyone else on the trail. They did discover the crime scene, about 200 feet from where they met Borchardt-Robertson, recovering bear spray, a vest and a straight edge knife, according to court documents.

They took Borchardt-Robertson to the Lincoln County Detention Center soon after.

A day later Undersheriff Brad Dodson, then a detective, traveled to Kalispell, where the victim was recuperating from the attack. The victim identified Borchardt-Robertson as his attacker from a photo lineup.

Borchardt-Robertson’s sentencing is scheduled for June 28.