TRAVERSE CITY -- A Grand Traverse County Deputy accepted a plea deal on an assault case.
Kipp Needham pleaded guilty to one count of Attempted Assault on a Police Officer Friday. The charge is a misdemeanor punishable by one year in jail.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Needham was arrested at his home last June.
He was charged with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest causing injury, possession of a firearm while intoxicated, and two counts of domestic violence.
He was originally scheduled for trial in October 2010, but it was delayed while mental evaluations were completed. The trial was rescheduled to take place on February 15.
The 12 year veteran of the Sheriff's Office has been suspended from the force without pay, pending the outcome of the case. The Grand Traverse County Sheriff Tom Bensley tells 7 & 4 News his office has no comment on the status of Deputy Needham until the case is reviewed by the Sheriff's Office.
