Jan. 16—NELSON COUNTY — A Grafton man was granted a plea agreement for

an attack on his parents

at their residence outside of McVille, N.D.

On July 10, Darin Lynn Harder called 911 to report that his parents suffered blunt force trauma to their heads and needed medical attention, according to a probable cause statement filed in the case.

Harder, 52, told law enforcement he’d been arguing with his father and struck both parents in the head with his shotgun, the statement said.

For this incident, Harder was charged with two counts of Class C felony aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of Class C felony reckless endangerment — extreme indifference.

Two days later, Harder’s parents spoke with police and said Harder pointed the shotgun — which they believed to be loaded — at his mother, according to court documents.

Harder’s mother said she didn’t want to be alone with him anymore, didn’t want him in her house and was afraid of him hurting or even killing herself and her husband.

With this additional information, Harder was charged in a separate case with Class C felony terrorizing with a dangerous weapon.

The cases were delayed as Harder underwent a psychological evaluation to determine whether he was fit to proceed. Finding that he was, he waived his preliminary hearings and pleaded not guilty to all charges in November.

A final dispositional conference was originally scheduled for Friday, Jan. 12, but Harder ended up changing his pleas before then.

He pleaded guilty to all five felonies.

For the original four counts, Harder was sentenced to five years each, first serving two years. The counts are consecutive, so he will serve eight years at the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He has credit for 159 days served.

He will serve no additional time for the terrorizing charge.

Upon release, he will serve three years on supervised probation. During that time, he is prohibited from possessing any weapons, using alcohol or illicit controlled substances or having any contact with his parents. Harder is also required to undergo a chemical addiction evaluation.