SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — A retired FBI agent accused of driving his vehicle at high speed toward a group of boys on bicycles after they angered him could have his case dismissed and avoid felony convictions.
Clifford Hedges, 62, who worked at the FBI for 27 years and was once named citizen of the year in Longmeadow, pleaded to sufficient facts in court on Wednesday, Masslive.com reported. The judge continued the case without a finding for one year and it will be dismissed if he complies with terms of a one-year probationary period that includes attending an anger management course and staying away from the 11- and 12-year-old boys.
Hedges had faced four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and other charges in connection with the encounter in a Longmeadow parking lot in June 2020.
The children blocked his way and one acknowledged making an obscene gesture, prosecutors said. Hedges pursued the boys, ran over a curb and hit a fence, prosecutors said. No one was hurt.
Prsoecutors had asked for guilty findings and two years of probation. Had he been convicted, Hedges faced up to five years in prison.
Hedges’ attorney, Daniel Bergin, said his client is remorseful and embarrassed but did not deserve a felony conviction.
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