The 35-year-old accused of stabbing another man in the throat with a box cutter during a bar fight earlier this month has pleaded not guilty to attempted deliberate homicide.

A taciturn Brockton Ferguson was arraigned in Flathead County District Court on April 21. He is being held in the county lockup on a $250,000 bond.

Ferguson, a Kalispell resident, told Judge Robert Allison he understood the charge against him after a bit of prodding.

“I need you to answer audibly,” Allison said.

“Yes,” Ferguson replied softly.

Defense attorney Emily Lamson entered the not guilty plea on Ferguson’s behalf. An omnibus hearing was scheduled for June 8 with a pretrial conference set for June 22.

Kalispell Police officers arrested Ferguson on April 5 after responding to a report of an assault inside a sports bar on the east side of the city about 9:36 p.m. Upon arrival, they found a man spitting up and choking on blood. Officers also found Ferguson on scene, court documents said. He allegedly muttered about needing to do laundry “after slitting someone’s throat.”

Witnesses told investigators they saw the victim slap Ferguson, according to court documents. He allegedly walked off, but later returned and punched the victim in the face. Then he drew a box cutter, driving it into the victim’s throat, court documents said.

Investigators reported that surveillance footage matched with the witnesses’ accounts of the ordeal.

The wound left by the box cutter was deep enough to lay bare the victim’s trachea, documents said. Emergency responders took him to Logan Health for medical care.

He was listed in stable condition, officials said in a press release following the attack.

Attempted deliberate homicide is punishable by death, lifetime imprisonment or between 10 and 100 years in Montana State Prison. Owing to the use of a box cutter, Ferguson could see an additional two to 10 years tacked onto his sentence, if convicted.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected].