(Patriot.Buzz) – After deciding to evade justice by any means possible, the lawyer of a U.S. Army private who escaped to North Korea just over a year ago revealed that his client plans to plead guilty to desertion and other charges.
Travis King’s lawyer, Franklin D. Rosenblatt, disclosed that King would confess to five military offenses, including desertion and assaulting an officer.
Meanwhile, nine other charges will be dropped as part of a plea agreement.
King’s opportunity to discuss his actions will come during a hearing set for September 20 at Fort Bliss, Texas.
“He wants to take responsibility for the things that he did,” Rosenblatt claimed.
He further mentioned, “Travis is grateful to his friends and family who have supported him, and to all outside his circle who did not prejudge his case based on the initial allegations.”
Rosenblatt did not provide details on the potential sentence King might face, though desertion is typically a grave offense that could lead to serving prison time.
This plea agreement was hinted at in July following reports about ongoing plea negotiations.
King made headlines last year when he fled across the heavily secured North-South Korean border.
This made him the first American detained in North Korea in nearly five years.
This dramatic escape occurred shortly after King’s release from a South Korean prison, where he had been held for almost two months on assault charges.
Released to military custody, King was being escorted to the airport to face disciplinary actions at Fort Bliss.
However, he escaped during a civilian tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom and dashed across the border, evading both guards and tourists.
North Korea detained him but opted to expel him about two months later. On September 28, he was returned to Texas, where he has been held ever since.
In October, the U.S. military charged King with multiple violations under the Uniform Code of Military Justice over incidents on July 10, the day he was released from South Korean custody.
These charges included desertion, assaulting officers, unlawful possession of alcohol, making false statements and possessing child sexual abuse imagery.
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