- In a plea deal, Texas teenager Reid Mitchell pleaded guilty to assaulting teammate Cole Hagan, The facts informed.
- Mitchell will spend 120 days in jail and the next 10 years on probation.
- The Hagans are “very happy” and feel the justice system worked, their lawyer told Insider.
Reid Mitchell, who state prosecutors charged with brutally assaulting his teammate, Cole Hagan, in 2021, has reached a plea agreement. He will serve 120 days in jail. toand then a 10-year probation.
Mitchell, 19, pleaded guilty Friday. His family, including his parents, his sister and two sets of grandparents, joined him in the courtroom in Angleton, Texas, according to the Brazoria County newspaper. The factswho first reported the plea agreement.
Mitchell left the courtroom in handcuffs on his way to the Brazoria County Jail to receive his 120-day sentence, according to The Facts. The conviction on his record will be expunged if he passes his 10-year probation without other violations, the outlet reported.
Hagan’s attorney, Loren Klitsas, told Insider that the family was “satisfied” with the plea agreement.
“The family is very, very pleased with Reid Mitchell’s sentencing,” Klitsas told Insider. “They feel like the judicial system worked.”
A Brazoria County grand jury defendant mitchell for second degree felony aggravated assault in March 2022 following the attack on Hagan at a pool party on the night of December 3, 2021. Teenagers Logan Huber and Ayden Holland told police they lured Hagan outside, where Mitchell beat him up and left him hospitalized. and on a ventilator with a fractured skull, brain bleeds, and a broken clavicle.
The Texas court also charged Huber and Holland with felony aggravated assault. Their trials are scheduled for May 15, according to court records.
Cole Hagan chose to “show mercy” to Reid Mitchell, Hagan’s attorney said.
In the courtroom on Friday, the prosecution filed a written statement from Hagan requesting that the judge and the district attorney’s office accept the guilty plea, The Facts reported. Hagan “spoke quietly but firmly” when he was called as a witness to accept the terms of the plea agreement, according to the outlet.
Mitchell made no statement at the hearing other than affirming Judge Patrick Bulanek’s questions that he understood the terms of the agreement, one of which is that Mitchell cannot contact Hagan, The Facts reported.
Hagan, accompanied by his father Mark, left the courtroom shortly after the settlement was reached, according to The Facts. Speaking directly to Mitchell, Judge Bulanek said that “the only person I should really thank is the guy who just walked out of this courtroom,” according to The Facts.
“You can’t contact him, but you should have thanked him. He’s probably the only reason I’m accepting this statement. Otherwise, I would have let a jury of your peers decide for me. Really, the people who are showing mercy are probably the people who shouldn’t be doing it,” Bulanek told the teen, The Facts reported.
Klitsas told Insider that in discussions with the district attorney, Hagan and his family chose to “show mercy” to Mitchell given his age and lack of a criminal record.
“Cole and the family decided to show mercy to him and give him a chance. Now he has 10 years to get his life back and change the path he was on,” Klitsas told Insider. “And if he doesn’t, the judge made it clear that he’s going to throw the book at him, that there will be no second chances. So the Hagens were totally fine with that.”
Beyond jail time, a multi-million dollar civil lawsuit looms.
Mitchell’s defense attorney, Paul Nugent, told The Facts it was a “fair and just resolution.” Nugent did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment on Sunday.
District Attorney Tom Selleck told the outlet that “they’re just kids,” adding that Mitchell taking responsibility for his actions against Hagan was a key part of the deal, The Facts reported.
“Sometimes kids do things that have tragic consequences, and that’s what happened in this case,” Selleck said, according to The Facts. “Maybe it will give someone else pause to at least take a moment and think about the potential of what they’re doing and the effect it will have. There are no real winners here, but everyone will be able to move on with their lives.” and pick up the pieces and move on.”
Klitsas is representing that family in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against several of Hagan’s classmates, accused of having knowledge of the attack before it happened, and their parents, Well-informed person previously reported. So far, Klitsas said, three families have settled.
“We’re hopeful that all parties will step up and resolve their differences with us about what happened,” Klitsas told Insider. “The Hagan family is pleased that they were able to resolve these differences and that it will help Cole through college and beyond and get his life back and move on.”
Hagan, a high school senior, is preparing to enroll at Texas State University, Klitsas said.
“He has made a miraculous recovery and is doing well,” Klitsas told Insider. “And to be honest with you, for an 18-year-old, it was his decision to show mercy, and that’s what he wanted to do.”
