Alabama man pleads guilty to reduced charge for assault at Charles City hotel

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

An Alabama man has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge for seriously injuring a man in a fight at a Charles City hotel earlier this year.

According to documents filed in Floyd County District Court, Laron Robert Martin, age 34, of Selma, Alabama, was in a verbal argument with another man at the Best Budget Hotel in Charles City on May 6.

“The male was walking away when Laron punched him in the side of the head and then picked him up and slammed him face first into the ground causing the male to be unconscious,” the criminal complaint says. It alleges that Martin continued punching the man in the head while he was unconscious, “causing serious injury.”

The man’s injuries included a displaced and fractured zygomatic arch (cheekbone), periorbital (around the eye) soft tissue contusion, and a concussion, according to the report, which said the man was treated at the hospital.

Martin was charged with willful injury resulting in serious injury, a Class C felony. He pleaded not guilty and a trial was set for Oct. 16.

Last Friday, Sept. 1, Martin filed a written plea of guilty in district court to a charge of assault causing serious injury, a Class D felony.

According to the agreement, in exchange for the plea the prosecution will recommend a fully suspended sentence and fine, but require Martin to pay full restitution.

“The State agrees that I can transfer my probation to another jurisdiction and ask for a deferred judgment” at sentencing, the agreement states.

The agreement also acknowledges that it is not binding on the judge, and the judge can impose any sentence up to the maximum permitted by law, which for a Class D felony is a sentence of up to not more than five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,245.

Under a deferred judgment the defendant pleads guilty, but the judge would defer judgment and sentencing and set up conditions such as probation that the defendant must meet.

If the defendant successfully completes all the conditions, the judge will dismiss the case and seal the records, meaning the defendant’s public record will not show the charges or a conviction.

The judge retains the power to enter a judgment of guilty and impose a sentence if the deferment conditions are not met.

District Court Judge Blake Norman accepted Martin’s guilty plea at a hearing held Monday morning. He set sentencing for Oct. 16 in Floyd County District Court.