ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, Va. – A former Virginia Military Institute Cadet’s has been found guilty of assault and battery by a twelve-person jury in Rockbridge County on Wednesday.
Jacob Littlefield was on trial for assault and strangulation that investigators said happened last year in the Barracks at VMI.
The Commonwealth said Littlefield was drunk and put his hands around the neck of another Cadet, Cooper Layne.
The defense argued the altercation, which was caught on video, shows that the time the defense’s hands were around the victim’s neck was not long enough o be considered strangulation, nor were there any bruising or marks.
Layne took the stand and recalled the night that this happened just over a year ago.
“I realized like ‘oh my gosh this is getting out of hand. This is getting physical. This is beyond drunken just loudness,’” Layne said.
On Wednesday evening, the jury found Littlefield guilty on one count of assault and battery, a lesser sentence from the original strangulation charge.
The jury also found Littlefield not guilty on the second assault and battery charge.
Instead of waiting for another day to sentence Littlefield, the Commonwealth, defense and Judge Christopher Russell agreed to do the sentencing the same day, Wednesday.
Littlefield took the stand during his sentencing to apologize to the court and the victim.
“If I could go back and not do what happened that night and not accuse you of things and come at you that night. In my sobriety now, I don’t think I would ever treat someone like that,” said Littlefield.
Littlefield was sentenced to 180 days in jail – 120 of those suspended.