Temple man sentenced for assaulting father

FARMINGTON — A Temple man was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison for assaulting his father at his home on Cummings Hill Road in Temple.

Brian R. Mackin, 27, pleaded guilty to a felony count of aggravated assault Monday in Franklin County Superior Court.

Charges of aggravated criminal trespass, terrorizing and violating condition of release were dismissed in a plea agreement.

Justice Robert Mullen also sentenced Mackin to 364 days in jail on a separate domestic violence assault charge that occurred in Farmington in October 2017.

If Mackin had gone to trial on the aggravated assault charge, Deputy District Attorney James Andrews said Mackin’s father would have testified that his son had been visiting and staying at his Temple home. He asked the Brian to leave Jan. 17 and he did.

The father would testify that on Jan. 18 he was surprised to hear noise in the kitchen and found his son there. The father would have testified that he was pushed from behind and his son threatened to kill him, according to Andrews.

Mackin grabbed a knife from the kitchen and his father grabbed a wooden drumstick and an altercation ensued.

The father was not sure how he received the wound on his head. During the investigation, Andrews said, a knife was discovered and it had blood on it.

Mackin told the court that his father could not have provided a written statement on whether the knife caused his wound because of his learning disability.

The incident caused a police standoff when Mackin did not immediately leave his father’s house once Franklin County sheriff’s deputies and state police arrived, Sheriff Scott Nichols Sr. previously said.

Mullen said there was a conference in judge’s chambers with Andrews and defense attorney Christopher Berryment about the strengths and weaknesses of the state’s case.

The sentencing agreement was a fair one under the circumstances, Mullen said.

The 364-day sentence for the domestic assault conviction will be served at the same time as the 18-month straight sentence on the aggravated assault conviction.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net