(Atlantic) A 34-year old man from Atlantic who was charged with Attempted Murder and Willful Injury Causing Serious Injury and originally plead Not Guilty, has instead entered a plea of guilty to the lesser, Willful Injury, charge. The case against Richard Doss was set to go to trial on March 22^nd. Cass County Attorney Vanessa Strazdas explains why they moved to dismiss the charge of Attempted Murder.

The charge he plead guilty to, Strazdas says, is a forcible felony, which offers no option for probation, or any suspended sentence.

Doss was sentenced Monday (today) to 10-years in prison (indeterminant), meaning he will be eligible for parole before the sentence is completed, most likely within a couple of years, depending on his behavior. Strazdas said Doss and the victim knew each other, and may have worked together. The victim’s name was never publicly released. When asked why Doss accepted the plea agreement, Strazdas said it likely was because he was not being “Hit with a mandatory minimum.”

If the weapon had been a gun, it would have automatically been considered a dangerous weapon. Strazdas said since they couldn’t find the knife to identify, it could not automatically be considered a dangerous weapon.

The incident that resulted in Doss’ arrest happened during the late night hours of December 5th. Doss was arrested without incident a few hours later, following an investigation.