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Pig farmer trial goes to jury
| Tuesday, Apr 22 2008 6:34 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Apr 22 2008 6:34 PM
The trial of an 82-year-old Bakersfield man accused of assaulting a sheriff’s deputy with a paint roller went to the jury Tuesday.
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Louis Montgomery waits to be called into Kern County Superior Court in this June 2007 file photo.
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After days of testimony that sometimes blended the bucolic with the bizarre, the jury was asked Tuesday afternoon to begin deliberations in the trial of Green Acres resident Louis Montgomery.
The charges against Montgomery revolve around an incident that occurred March 4 of last year when Kern County Sheriff’s Deputy Steven Williams was allegedly struck with a long-handled paint roller wielded by the elderly defendant.
Williams suffered a gash on his head, and green paint on his uniform, while Montgomery sustained two fractured bones during the confrontation.
Montgomery faces felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and resisting arrest.
If he is found guilty, all bets are off about how one metes out punishment to a crotchety 82-year-old with no record of prior arrests. At times during the trial, Montgomery sounded like he had just rose up out of the pages of “The Grapes of Wrath” — or the comedy sketches of the classic TV show “Hee Haw.”
Defense attorney Kyle Humphrey said he thinks his client will be acquitted. But in the event of a verdict of guilty, Humphrey said he would be surprised to see Montgomery given jail time. Deputy District Attorney William Schlaerth declined to comment Tuesday.