Carterville man granted probation in felony domestic assault case
Dec. 9—A Carterville man was granted a suspended sentence when he pleaded guilty this week to a reduced charge in an assault case.
Nicholas A. King, 38, entered an Alford plea Monday in Jasper County Circuit Court to a felony count of third-degree domestic assault in a plea agreement permitting a suspended sentence. An Alford plea admits no guilt but acknowledges the likelihood of a conviction if the case were to proceed to trial.
King had been facing a more serious count of first-degree domestic assault in the case.
Judge Gayle Crane accepted the plea agreement and sentenced King to four years with execution of the sentence suspended and the defendant placed on supervised probation for five years.
King assaulted James Mason on July 30, 2021, as Mason was leaving for work. Mason testified at a preliminary hearing last year that in an argument King punched him several times in the head while he was driving.
Mason ended up requiring treatment at a hospital for a concussion and a split ear as a result of the assault.
