Teen Suspect in Videotaped Beating of Classmate Pleads Guilty
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Polk County teenager accused of participating in the videotaped beating of a classmate has accepted a plea deal.
Mercades Nichols, 18, pleaded guilty to battery and tampering with a witness Tuesday. The State Attorney's Office said a kidnapping charge was dropped.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Click here to see photographs of the suspects.
Nichols also agreed to plead guilty to charges of battery, assault and violation of an injunction in an unrelated case, in which she was accused of stalking a former boyfriend. She is scheduled be sentenced in March.
Nichols was among a group of teens arrested in 2008 and accused of attacking a 16-year-old girl. The attack was recorded on video and broadcast around the world.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nichols' attorney, Melissa A. Wilson, called the case an "unfortunate situation."