MINOT, N.D. (AP) -- A Montana man accused of attacking another man with a knife at a North Dakota gas station has pleaded not guilty.
The attorney for 30-year-old Peter Maki of Kalispell, Mont., says he will argue that his client is innocent due to lack of criminal responsibility because of mental disease or defect.
An earlier court-ordered mental evaluation concluded that Maki was competent to stand trial provided he complied with medical treatment.
Maki is accused in a mid-March attack at a gas station along U.S. Highway 2 on the east edge of Minot. He faces an attempted murder charge punishable by up to 20 years in prison. A pretrial conference is scheduled Sept. 1.
