Four years after an armed confrontation with a federal agent, a prominent Linden-area farmer agreed to plead guilty Monday in a deal that allows him to escape prison time.
Andrew Watkins, 49, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of assault of a federal officer and will have to pay a fine of $10,000 to $25,000 and remain on federal probation for four years under the deal, which still faces approval by U.S. Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan. Watkins also is prohibited from carrying a firearm outside his home while on probation, under terms of the agreement hammered out with federal prosecutors.
The plea deal allows Watkins to resolve the case without going to trial on a felony count that could have netted him up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.