A Port Hadlock man entered a pleading of not guilty in Jefferson County Superior Court on Friday following an allegation that he tried to attack a neighbor with a hammer, but hit her husband instead when he tried to stop the attack.

Eric Andrew Holm, 55, was arraigned March 3 for second-degree assault with a deadly weapon.

Authorities allege that Holm was arguing with his neighbors on West Price Street in Port Hadlock-Irondale when he raised a hammer to strike one of the neighbors.

The woman’s husband reached out to stop the attack, according to court papers, when Holm allegedly hit the man on his left wrist.

Holm fled the scene when 911 was called. A medical evaluation showed the victim had a swollen, bleeding hand, but no broken bones.

During Holm’s appearance in court Friday, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tuppence Macintyre told the judge that Holm had recently been convicted of second-degree assault.

In that 2021 case, Holm has been charged with two counts of second-degree assault, including allegations of domestic violence and strangulation, and making death threats.

Macintyre said Holm has been sentenced to nine months in custody, and another 12 months in community custody.

The alleged hammer attack had occurred while Holm was  on parole.

Macintrye asked that bail be set at $50,000 for public safety reasons, and added that Holm is “looking at a significant amount of time in prison.”

Superior Court Judge Brendon Mack agreed with the bail recommendation, noting that Holm had just finished serving a sentence for second-degree assault.

The trial was set for May 1.

In Holm’s earlier case, he was convicted for assaulting his  wife in Chimacum in May 2021. She had been found with multiple injuries on her body, and she told a deputy that her husband had choked and strangled her, then repeatedly put pillows on her face as she struggled to breathe.