NORTHAMPTON — Eric Matlock, a Northampton homeless man, had three cases settled in Northampton District Court Wednesday morning, and was placed on administrative probation for six months.
Matlock, 35, admitted to one charge of disorderly conduct, one charge of resisting arrest and one charge of disturbing the peace as part of an agreed-upon plea deal. A travel restriction on the probation was not implemented as Matlock and his wife plan on camping out of state in the spring and summer this year.
If Matlock completes his probation without running afoul of the law, the charges will be dismissed. Judge Kevin Maltby approved the terms of the plea deal and also waived probation supervision and victim witness fees for Matlock because he is indigent.
In court, Assistant District Attorney Andrew Covington said that Matlock’s last legal admission was to an assault and battery charge in 2013 that was continued without a finding and subsequently dismissed after he completed probation. Covington said this was a factor in the terms of the plea deal, as was the fact that Matlock had been held for 60 days in jail following the revocation of his bail in a superior court case, and had just been released.
Covington said the commonwealth hopes that the time Matlock spent in jail “was a wakeup call” for Matlock and “will help curtail his behavior.”
“I think it was a fair offer. More to the point Mr. Matlock is happy with it,” said Dana Goldblatt, Matlock’s attorney, outside of court.
Matlock also characterized the resolution of the cases as “fair” and said he will be trying to set a good example.
“I wouldn’t want anyone to look at me and assume I’m a bad person,” he said in an interview outside court.
Matlock had been found not guilty of charges of resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer and disorderly conduct in a high-profile trial last year after an incident where Matlock was arrested and pepper sprayed after protesting on the steps of Northampton City Hall. Since that incident, Matlock has had numerous run-ins with the Northampton Police Department.
The resisting arrest charge stemmed from a January incident that began with Matlock accosting Officer Andrew Kohl in the Haymarket Cafe on Main Street and ended with Kohl arresting Matlock. Matlock was initially arrested on several charges in connection with the incident that were later dropped or dismissed in court.
The disorderly conduct stemmed from a May 2018 incident where Matlock and a group of friends got into a confrontation with a motorist, which began after they crossed the road in the vicinity of Mimo’s Pizza on Pleasant Street.
The disturbing the peace charge stemmed from an April verbal altercation between Matlock and the police, in which his wife was also involved.
Matlock still has an open case in Hampshire Superior Court for two counts of assault and battery and one count of malicious destruction of property over $250. He also has a case pending in Holyoke District Court for assault and battery on a pregnant victim, assault with a dangerous weapon, destruction of property under $1,200 and assault.
Bera Dunau can be reached at bdunau@gazettenet.com.