A 16-year-old agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault for punching a St. Paul teacher last month.
The plea deal calls for the Ramsey County attorney's office to dismiss a third-degree felony assault charge filed in March. The student, in turn, would plead guilty to misdemeanor fifth-degree assault, Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Jill Fedje said Monday.
The student was scheduled to be tried in juvenile court Monday when Fedje announced the deal for the March 9 attack on Como High School teacher Mark Rawlings. The Star Tribune generally doesn't name juvenile suspects.
"Our victim in this matter is fully supportive of this resolution," Fedje told the court.
Rawlings did not attend Monday's hearing.
The student's attorney, Patrick McGee, moved to have the proceeding closed since his client was no longer charged with a felony and thus, not subject to public court proceedings.
Ramsey County District Court Judge James Clark granted the request.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the case: The student and a second student, both boys, walked into Rawlings' classroom to assault another student who had apparently sold poor quality marijuana to yet another student. The first two students were not pupils of the class.
