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SALT LAKE CITY — Senior cornerback Dominique Hatfield entered a no contest plea in abeyance to assault charges Tuesday, ending the nearly year-long legal drama surrounding him.
Hatfield agreed to the no contest plea, a class B misdemeanor, Tuesday in Salt Lake Justice Court. The plea means Hatfield is required to pay $680 in court fees and $1,029 to the victims for medical expenses as a result of the injury.
As long as Hatfield stays out of legal trouble for a year, essentially all charges can be dismissed forever.
Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham addressed the legal proceedings Tuesday following practice, saying he believes the plea puts an end to Hatfield's legal issues.
"I'm not aware of the exact details, but what I understand is we have some closure on it," Whittingham said. "From what I understood from the short conversation we had, we've got it wrapped up."
Whittingham added that Hatfield has matured since the incident and is doing better.
"He's grown up a lot since he's been with our program and he's grown up a lot since the incident," Whittingham said. "Nobody is perfect and people make mistakes, but I think he's come a long way in a lot of areas since joining the program. We need him to be a big-play guy for us again this fall so he's got to stay on the straight and narrow,"
Hatfield was previously charged with assault following an alleged altercation on July 5, 2015. Hatfield was alleged to have assaulted an acquaintance at a party after he had asked him to stop "rolling marijuana into a blunt." The victim sustained cuts to the face and nose, with some bruising to the eyes, shoulder and back, according to the charging documents.
Hatfield was dismissed from the Utah football program on July 10, 2015 after Whittingham said there were "concerns" with the cornerback. Hatfield was later admitted back to the program on Sept. 5, 2015 and played the remainder of the season.
