A 33-year-old Corriverton contractor on Thursday changed his plea to guilty to assaulting an off-duty police officer and was fined $80,000 by Magistrate Tuanna Hardy.
Nicolas Matthews of Number 77 Housing Scheme, Corriverton, was scheduled to begin trial at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court when he informed the court that he wanted to change his plea.
Matthews subsequently pleaded guilty to unlawfully assaulting Police Lance Corporal Odeal Cort and causing him actual bodily harm.
He was fined $80,000 and ordered to pay the fine by October 31, failing which he will serve two weeks imprisonment.
Attorney-at-law Vinay Punwa represented the police in the matter, while Matthews was represented by attorney Ryan Crawford.
The matter arose from an incident on June 1, 2026, at Number 79 Village, Corriverton.
Matthews had initially pleaded not guilty when he appeared before the Whim Magistrate’s Court and was subsequently remanded to prison after Magistrate Hardy refused bail.
The court had previously heard allegations that Cort, who was off duty at the time, had completed grocery shopping with his wife when Matthews allegedly confronted him with a baseball bat and struck him several times.
The matter was subsequently transferred to the Springlands Magistrate’s Court, where the trial was scheduled to commence on Wednesday. Matthews instead changed his plea to guilty and was fined $80,000.
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