30 year-old Patrick McGrath is being held on $50,000 bail after being charged with three felony counts of assault with a weapon following a scuffle in which he cut three people with a knife.

Deputy Missoula County Attorney Ryan Mickelson said the incident occurred on Sunday night, directly across from the Missoula County Courthouse on Broadway, which houses the Missoula County Sheriff's Office. During McGrath's Justice Court appearance, Mickelson asked Judge Landee Holloway for bail of $100,000.

The defendant pulled a knife on two strangers who were unarmed inside a vehicle," Mickelson said. "One of those individuals was cut by the knife. They then attempted to immobilize the defendant, and then a third bystander came by to help and he also was cut by the knife. The blade was four inches long and the knife was approximately eight inches long."

Mickelson emphasized to Judge Holloway what might have happened if McGrath had not been subdued by the bystanders, and eventually, the sheriff's deputies who responded when they heard the commotion across the street from their office.

"This is a very significant offence," he continued. "Had they not been able to immobilize him, it could have resulted in significant injury, if not death to these individuals. It appears he was highly inebriated at the time, so the State would be requesting $100,000 bail."

Judge Holloway set bail at $50,000, and ordered McGrath to appear again on April 4th.

 

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