COLDWATER, MI — Dakota McDaniel, 22, pleaded guilty on Monday Feb. 2, to felonious assault with pepper spray after a confrontation on S. Monroe Street.
Prosecutor Zack Stempien said McDaniel and James Ryall, 24, were filming people downtown on Feb. 8, 2025, when two people left Jim’s Place.
The pair recorded the men as they left the pool hall. The patrons approached the videographers, who were dressed in black.
Ryall sprayed both men with pepper spray.
City video showed Ryall continuing to spray one as he tried to run away.
McDaniel never used or possessed the pepper spray but was charged as an accomplice, the prosecutor said.
Stempien asked McDaniel if he ever thought their actions would make people feel harassed or terrorized.
McDaniel admitted, “I understand now, at the time, I did not.”
Under the plea agreement, McDaniel would be placed on Holmes Youthful Training Act probation with no up-front jail time for the four-year felony.
The case will be sealed, and the felony vacated if he completes probation. HYTA requires a guilty plea.
Ryall, 24, earlier pleaded no contest to felonious assault and got two years’ probation and 120 days in jail in his November 2025 sentencing.
Stempien noted that recording people in public isn’t illegal under the First Amendment.
Stempien said at Ryall’s sentencing, “This case crossed the line. We certainly want our community to be one where it’s welcoming.”
A group of young soccer players declined to press charges after being recorded from outside while inside the Broadway Grill restaurant on S. Monroe Street.
Visiting Judge David Buter accepted McDaniel’s plea. Who will sentence McDaniel on March 9 is uncertain.
If that judge rejects the agreement, McDaniel can withdraw his plea.
Contact Don Reid, dReid@USATodayCo.Com
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Second man gets plea deal in 2025 Monroe Street pepper spray attack
Reporting by Don Reid, Coldwater Daily Reporter / Coldwater Daily Reporter
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