Man Allegedly Threatened His Neighbor and Her Dog With a Knife

On Friday, Missoula Police Officers responded to an apartment building located in the 2800 block of Santa Fe Court for a report of a disturbance with a knife. The complainant reported that her neighbor, who was later identified as 61-year-old Gary Ellington, had come to her back door, tapped on the window with a knife, and yelled “I’m going to kill you and your dog.” The complainant said she was extremely frightened and that she believed Ellington was going to hurt her with the knife.

Officer located Ellington and conducted an investigation. Ellington told the officer that he had been upset at the complainant’s dog for barking. He said the dog was barking again that night and he admitted that he lost his temper. He said he came down and knocked on the complainant’s patio door while holding a knife. However, he said he never threatened her or her dog, but merely held it to his side while telling her that he would use the knife to defend himself against the dog if necessary.

During the interview he said he knew it was wrong to bring the knife with him and attributed it to losing his cool temporarily. He also said that if he were in the complainant’s place, he would have likely felt threatened.

Ellington was charged with one count of felony assault with a weapon in Missoula Justice Court.