A Grand Island man who was acquitted of murder has pleaded no contest to assaulting a corrections officer.

36-year-old Arkanjelo Kot decided to change his plea on Monday. In exchange for the plea, another charge for failing to appear at a February hearing was dropped.

Prosecutors say Kot assaulted a jail guard last June when the guard tried to break up an argument Kot was having with another inmate.

Kot’s attorney, Jim Truell, said his client was frustrated and believed the guard was discriminating against him because the other inmate wasn’t punished.

Kot will be sentenced on May 28. He could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for second-degree assault.

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