BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- An 81-year-old retiree was back in court on Tuesday facing a felony charge of allegedly assaulting a Kern County deputy.

Louis Montgomery is facing the possibility of three years in prison for hitting a deputy with a paint roller, ABC23 reported.

Last March, Montgomery was in the middle of a dispute with his neighbor over his pig farm. The feud boiled over when he decided to paint a wall facing his neighbor's property using an assortment of old paint, according to the Kern County Sheriff's Department. The neighbor then called the authorities to stop Montgomery.

A Kern County sheriff’s deputy who arrived at his home in Northwest Bakersfield told him to stop painting the wall. Montgomery said he explained to the deputy the fence was his to paint.

“He accused me of graffiti on my own fence,” said Montgomery.

The deputy said Montgomery ignored the deputy and continued to paint the wall with a long-handled paint roller.

According to Deputy District Attorney Alex Harper, Montgomery hit the deputy over the head with the roller when the deputy tried to wrestle it away. The deputy was covered in paint and required medical attention for the gash in his head. Harper said the deputy received several stitches.

Montgomery said he was also injured in the brawl.

“When I was taken off the wall he busted both my arms, my elbows and a few of my ribs,” Montgomery explained.

He was arrested following the fight and charged with one count of felony assault with a deadly weapon.

Montgomery has pleaded not guilty.

He will return to court on Thursday for his preliminary hearing.