Man accused of killing Poplar man appears in court

A Poplar man accused of killing a 19-year-old entered his plea in U.S. District Court on Thursday.

Keith Joseph Hanks, 33, pleaded not guilty to one count of second-degree murder.

According to the federal indictment, Hanks killed a man identified in the document as D.J. with “malice and aforethought” on July 22 within the borders of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

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The Tribune previously reported that Duran Jackson was the victim of that alleged crime.

Leslie Jackson, Duran’s mother, previously told the Great Falls Tribune that her understanding is that Duran was stabbed twice in the neck and three times in the torso, but she has not been able to confirm that officially.

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Duran was outside the Buckhorn Bar and Café around 2 a.m. when a man tried to stab another, and Duran stepped in, his mother said.

Hanks faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is in federal custody pending trial.

The trial was set for Nov. 21.