Plea deal nixed in hammer beating

By MICHELLE LOVATO

Lake County Leader

Desmond Alan Mackay pleaded guilty to felony mitigated deliberate homicide last week in the death of his father-in-law, John Barrows.

Mackay’s plea deal, however, drew reservations from Lake County District Court Judge Deborah Kim Christopher, who is overseeing the case. 

Mackay and his attorney, J. Thomas Bartleson, appeared before Christopher April 30 to enter the plea agreement.

But Christopher was not convinced the plea agreement was the right course of action.

“The court has significant reservations with regard to the plea agreement’s use of ‘mitigated,’” records said. 

That’s when attorneys representing both sides of the plea agreement offered further discussion.

“The court makes it clear that she is not bound by the plea agreement but is willing to wait and review the pre-sentencing investigation prior to sentencing,” the minutes said.

Christopher offered Bartleson the opportunity to proceed to trial, or to enter the plea agreement as it is now written, the minutes said.

Mackay’s attorney asked the court to receive their plea agreement.

Mackay killed his father-in-law with a hammer. Mackay, 36, of Polson, was angry with another man and mistook Barrows for the man he intended to injure with a hammer, court records said. Barrows, 67, was in a coma for 10 days at Kalispell Regional Medical Center before dying.

Mackay pleaded guilty to the incident that took place March 5, 2014, but entered a guilty plea of a lesser charge than the felony deliberate homicide and felony assault with a weapon charges Lake County officials had levied against him.

Barrows was in the yard with his son while Mackay waited in the garage with a hammer.

Another person was in the garage attempting to talk Mackay out of his intended actions, but Mackay jumped at the next person to enter the door, records said. 

When emergency responders arrived, they found Barrows on the ground and Mackay and his brother-in-law fighting, records said. 

A framing hammer was lying in a snow bank near the struggle, records said. 

Mackay’s sentencing hearing will begin at 9 a.m. May 28 in Lake County District Court.