The Natrona County District Attorney's Office will retry a Casper man accused of assaulting an off-duty police officer with a bar glass.

The decision comes less than two weeks after the first trial of Kelvin Montgomery ended with a hung jury.

Jurors could not reach a verdict on whether Montgomery assaulted Casper police officer Mark Cutrell at Elixirs bar in downtown Casper on March 16. The jury of three men and three women acquitted Montgomery of assaulting a bartender during the same incident.

Montgomery's new trial is set for Oct. 23 in Natrona County Circuit Court. He will face a single count of misdemeanor battery, with a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $750 fine.

District Attorney Michael Blonigen said it's not usual to retry a misdemeanor case.

"The evidence remains pretty much the same," he said.

There's no dispute that Montgomery struck Cutrell in the left temple with a glass during an altercation where each man shoved the other. The blow knocked out Cutrell and cut an artery, causing serious bleeding.

Prosecutors say Montgomery assaulted Cutrell after calling the officer a "snitch" and then pushing him during a crowded night at the bar. They presented evidence that Montgomery later told a deputy, "I should do to all pigs what I did to that pig."

At last month's trial, Montgomery's attorney Patrick LeBrun argued his client was acting in self defense after noticing, during the altercation, that Cutrell was carrying a pistol in a holster concealed in the small of his back. Cutrell admitted at trial to carrying the gun, which was a department violation because he had been drinking alcohol that night.

"My client acted in self defense and we are going to tell the jury about it," LeBrun said Monday, when reached for comment.

Jurors began deliberations on July 23, following a day-and-a-half trial. After meeting for five hours, they told the judge they were deadlocked and that further deliberations would not help, leading to the mistrial.

Neither Blonigen nor LeBrun would say how the jury voted on whether Montgomery assaulted Cutrell.

Reach crime reporter Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com.

NewsTracker

Last we knew: A jury last month could not reach a verdict on whether a Casper man assaulted an off-duty police officer at a bar in March.

The latest: Kelvin Montgomery will be retried on the same charge, Natrona County District Attorney Michael Blonigen said Monday.

What's next: Montgomery's new trial is set for October in Natrona County Circuit Court.