Mackay pleads not guilty

POLSON — Desmond Alan Mackay, the Polson man who allegedly attacked his father-in-law and brother-in-law with a hammer last month, was arraigned in Lake County District Court last Thursday.

The 35-year-old Mackay entered a not guilty plea to all three of his charges: a count of deliberate homicide and two counts of assault with a weapon.

Allegedly attempting to attack his brother-in-law, 36-year-old Jesse Waugh, of Polson, in a dispute over money owed on March 5, Mackay instead hit 67-year-old John Barrows, also of Polson, directly on the head with the framing hammer he was wielding. Barrows died from the injury at Kalispell Regional Medical Center 10 days later. He was Mackay’s father-in-law.

Mackay will appear in court next on Thursday, April 24 for an omnibus hearing. His trial is set to begin Monday, June 23.