A Monroe County man entered a guilty plea on Monday in Carbon County court to a charge of simple assault for an incident at the county prison.

Robert Henry Freeman, 27, of Pocono Lake, appeared before President Judge Roger N. Nanovic II to enter the plea for an incident on Feb. 23, 2020, at the prison in Nesquehoning. In exchange for the plea charges of assault by prisoner, aggravated assault and harassment were dropped by the district attorney’s office.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by Richard Neikam of the Nesquehoning police:

On date stated, Neikam was dispatched to the prison at 8:15 p.m. because of a fight between Freeman and another inmate. The inmate was transported to the emergency room at St. Luke’s Miners Campus in Coaldale to be evaluated for his injuries after he was struck in the head with a sock full of batteries.

The inmate said he was in his cell when Freeman entered and confronted him about a debt owed from a previous stay in a MAX block. The inmate said he felt a blow to the head and went to the ground and noticed a sock in Freeman’s hand. The sock containing was found, with four AA batteries inside of it. He then felt a punch to the left side of his face and began to yell for help and a C.O. found him in a puddle of blood toward the back of his cell. The victim had a cut to the left side of his head and also had left arm pain.

He received about seven to eight stitches in his head and his left hand was X-rayed.

Freeman told police he went into the inmate’s cell to confront him on a debt and that the other inmate started the fight with him. Freeman denied striking the inmate with the sock, but said that he punched him in self-defense.

During the interview, Freeman became defensive and yelled a vulgarity at Neikam.

On Monday, Freeman again denied hitting the victim with a sock full of batteries.

Nanovic deferred sentencing due to a question concerning credit time for Freeman at the prison.

Freeman is currently on probation after pleading guilty in September to charges stemming from a robbery. The robbery charges were dropped against Freeman and his co-defendant, Adrian Malcom Thompson, 27, in a plea deal in which they pleaded to simple assault. The plea came on the day they were scheduled to go on trial on six felony counts, all dropped in a plea deal.

Freeman is scheduled to appear before Judge Joseph J. Matika on Thursday to a charge of possession of a small amount of marijuana with a felony count of possession with intent to deliver to be dropped in a plea deal.

Nanovic deferred the sentencing in his case to Thursday for Matika to handle stating by that time the credit question should be cleared up.