A Kalispell man accused of harassing his neighbors and who sparked a standoff inside the Flathead County Justice Center in 2023 later received a deferred prosecution agreement.

Prosecutors brought John Drew Peterson, 77, up on a felony stalking charge after a brewing conflict with a neighbor culminated on March 25, 2023, with him allegedly standing outside their Castle View Road home armed with a machete. 

Peterson, who blamed the neighbors' dog for an injury to his horse, said he would "gut" the family "like pigs," according to charging documents filed in Flathead County District Court. 

Peterson pleaded not guilty before then-Judge Robert Allison at his April 2023 arraignment while adamantly arguing that the victims in the case were harassing him.  

“I have tried to live a life of quiet tranquility until my next-door neighbors moved in,” he told the court, describing himself as already suffering from post-traumatic stress. “I lived the next 13 years in terror.” 

By May, Peterson was back behind bars after holding a blade to his throat inside the justice center in Kalispell, sparking a roughly one-hour standoff with security personnel and several law enforcement agencies. Peterson demanded justice and expressed his displeasure with law enforcement and two judges, who he identified by name, according to documents filed in court following the incident.  Authorities eventually used less-than-lethal rounds and a K-9 unit to take Peterson into custody, Sheriff Brian Heino said at the time.  

In June 2024, County Attorney Travis Ahner filed a motion to dismiss the case, citing an agreement struck with Peterson.  

"Based on the circumstances of the offense, the parties have deemed it appropriate to resolve this case through a deferred prosecution agreement," he wrote in the motion.  

Allison ordered the case dismissed with prejudice on June 27, 2024. 

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