November 18, 2008 12:59 am
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A rural Sarcoxie man pleaded guilty Monday to a reduced charge of misdemeanor assault and was assessed a suspended sentence in Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin.
Jay W. Northern, 25, pleaded guilty to third-degree assault in a plea agreement with the Jasper County prosecutor’s office. He had been facing a felony charge of second-degree assault for attacking Cory Lee Wright on Nov. 18 of last year.
A probable-cause affidavit filed by a Jasper County deputy states that Wright went to Northern’s home at 2401 Cimmaron Road to collect some money he believed Northern owed him. When he was unable to make contact with him, Wright turned around to walk away. Northern then attacked him from behind, striking Wright on the arm and head with an unidentified wooden object, according to the affidavit.
The document states that Wright required emergency medical assistance and 18 staples to close a head wound.
Under terms of the plea agreement, Northern was assessed a one-year suspended sentence with two years on unsupervised probation. Circuit Judge Gayle Crane also ordered the defendant to complete a counseling program on alternatives to violence and to pay the victim $2,506 in restitution.
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