The man accused of running down a pedestrian with his vehicle in August pleaded not guilty to a deliberate homicide charge Thursday in Flathead County District Court.  

Defense attorneys representing Jeffrey Scott Serio, 48, entered the plea before Judge Heidi Ulbricht during Serio’s Sep. 4 arraignment. Ulbricht set an omnibus hearing in the case for Nov. 19 and a pretrial conference for Jan. 9. 

Serio, wearing an orange jumpsuit and sporting a salt-and-pepper beard and slicked back hair, peered wide-eyed around the courtroom while awaiting being called before Ulbricht.  

Serio was already on law enforcement’s radar before the alleged slaying, according to documents filed by Deputy County Attorney Amy Kenison in district court. Kenison is prosecuting the murder case.  

Authorities received a call at around 7:38 p.m., Aug. 19 about a suspicious male — later identified as Serio — on a property on Grigg Road near Glacier Park International Airport, according to charging documents.  

The responding deputy told Serio to leave the property before Serio walked toward his parked vehicle, according to the court documents.  

The deputy then heard a vehicle speed through a cornfield and through a fence before heading toward a property on Grigg Road, court documents said.  

Witnesses told investigators they heard Serio’s vehicle hit something followed by gunshots and a subsequent crash. A witness alleged Serio got out of his vehicle after the crash and was heard saying, “I tried to miss him,” before running down the road.    

The victim, identified as Raymond Maurice Grigg, was found trapped underneath Serio’s abandoned vehicle, according to court documents. He died at the scene.  

Law enforcement reported finding five shell casings at the scene, with two bullet holes in front of Serio’s vehicle.  

Serio remains in custody in the county jail on $500,000 bail.  

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].  

    Jeffrey Scott Serio is shown at his arraignment in Flathead County District Court in Kalispell on Thursday, Sept. 4. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Jeffrey Scott Serio speaks with attorney Alisha Rapkoch before his arraignment in Flathead County District Court in Kalispell on Thursday, Sept. 4. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider