Judge Robert Allison handed down Monday a partially suspended 20-year prison sentence to the man arrested nearly a year ago for stabbing another person in the neck with a box cutter at a Kalispell area bar.

Brockton Lorn Ferguson, 36, received 14 years behind bars with the remainder suspended at his March 20 sentencing on a felony aggravated assault charge in Flathead County District Court. Granted 349 days of credit for time served, Ferguson will not become eligible for parole until he completes an intensive treatment unit for substance abuse.

Allison also ordered Ferguson to pay $25,000 in restitution to the crime victim compensation fund.

Owing to a weapons enhancement to the charge, Ferguson also saw an additional 10 years, all suspended, tacked onto the end of his sentence.

Prosecutors initially charged Ferguson with attempted deliberate homicide in the wake of the April 5, 2022 attack, which left his victim hospitalized, according to court documents. When Kalispell Police officers arrived at the bar about 9:36 p.m., they reported finding a man spitting up and choking on blood, the wound having laid bare his trachea.

Witnesses told investigators that they saw the victim slap Ferguson. While Ferguson initially walked away, he returned, punched the victim in the eye and pulled out a box cutter, court documents said. He then allegedly tried to slit the victim’s throat.

Investigators reported that witness accounts matched up with surveillance footage of the alleged attack. According to court documents, Ferguson could be seen on the recording walking up to the victim and sticking an object into his neck.

Authorities arrested Ferguson soon after. He allegedly made a remark to the effect of “needing to do laundry now after slitting someone’s throat,” court documents said.

Prosecutors amended the charge to aggravated assault in conjunction with a plea agreement struck in November. Ferguson pleaded guilty to the felony that same month.

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