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Convicted murderer pleads guilty to assault charges

Posted at 5:02 PM, Jul 18, 2013
and last updated 2013-07-18 17:02:24-04

HENRICO, Va. (WTVR) –The triggerman in a drug deal-turned-robbery and shooting that left an Atlee High school student dead faced a judge Thursday.

Xavia Highsmith pleaded guilty to  misdemeanor assault and battery in connection with an attack on another inmate inside the Henrico County jail.

The Henrico sheriff told CBS 6 News back in April that the 20-year-old hit another man over the head with a metal canteen box so hard that the inmate required staples to close up the wound.

Highsmith was sentenced to an additional year in jail with $656 in fines and court costs.

Highsmith was also sentenced earlier this year to 27 years in prison in connection with the shooting death of Brett Wells. RELATED: Hanover teens sentenced in Mechanicsville murder

Wells was dealing marijuana from his Mechanicsville-area home when Highsmith and two other men decided to rob Wells instead of paying. All three men were sentenced to 27 years.