Brant Sheckles enters guilty plea Friday on reduced assault charge

NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT

BRANT SHECKLES

Monday, June 16, 2014, 2 p.m. — Brant Joseph Sheckles, 24, of Bardstown, pleaded guilty Friday to an amended charge of fourth-degree assault and first-degree riot in connection with an Aug. 11, 2013, incident involved Sheckles and several co-defendants in an altercation at a field party that left several people injured.

In the plea bargain, the initial charge of first-degree assault — a Class B felony — was reduced to fourth-degree assault, a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail. The charge of first-degree riot — a Class D felony punishable by one to five years in prison — was not amended.

The Commonwealth Attorney recommended a four-year sentence on the first-degree riot charge and a 12-month sentence on the assault charge, with the sentences to run concurrently with the possibility of probation.

In an Aug. 21, 2013, indictment, it is alleged that Sheckles was on of several people involved in an altercation, and that he allegedly struck a juvenile in the head with a rock “causing serious physical injury” and that he created a public disturbance with violent conduct.

Final sentencing is set for July 3, 2014, in Nelson Circuit Court.

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