BELCHERTOWN — A 23-year-old man accused of carrying out an assault that thrust the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus into a chaotic lockdown in February pleaded guilty to several charges Friday and will spend two years in the house of correction.
In Eastern Hampshire District Court, Shawn Wyatt, of Framingham, admitted to his involvement in the Feb. 18 assault and robbery of a student following a botched drug deal. The assault led the university to order the lockdown after reports of a man with a gun circulated around campus.
According to police reports, Wyatt and his co-defendant, William McKeown, 19, traveled to the campus in an attempt to sell shredded vegetables — which the men tried to pass off as marijuana — to the student. But when the student realized the two were trying to fool him and leave with his money, an altercation ensued. That’s when Wyatt hit the student with a BB gun and his fists, police said.
Wyatt pleaded guilty to larceny, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery.
Wyatt was sentenced to two years in the Hampshire County House of Correction, followed by one year of probation.
Upon release, Wyatt is required to stay off the UMass Amherst campus, submit to random drug tests and have no contact with the victim in the case, Carey said.
Meanwhile, McKeown, who is out on bail and subject to GPS monitoring, is due back in court June 21.