ALFRED — A Berwick man who was beaten even after he was unconscious and left in a snowbank outside a Lebanon bar in January told York County Superior Court Justice John O’Neil he wants defendant Jason Mowry to serve jail time.

Jason Moreland, 45, told the judge his eye socket, cheekbone and his upper and lower jaw were all broken as a result of the beating outside Trains Tavern on Route 202 on Jan. 27. He said he’s had two surgeries and that metal plates had to be placed in his throat and face. He has lost 60 percent of his sight in one eye and part of his face is paralyzed. Moreland lost seven teeth in the beating, faces several more surgeries and was out of work for three months and 17 days. The father of four said the beating took a toll on his children.

But jail time doesn’t figure into a plea agreement worked out by York County Assistant District Attorney Kent Avery and Darren Locke, who represents Mowry, 33, of Acton, unless Mowry fails to comply with its terms. Mowry is one of two men charged with aggravated assault. The second defendant, Gilbert Perez, 28, is serving a one-to-three-year prison term in New Hampshire State Prison on a habitual offender conviction, and is expected to answer the charge in Maine after he completes his prison sentence.

Mowry appeared before O’Neil at York County Superior Court Wednesday and entered a guilty plea to two misdemeanor assault charges and a violation of conditions of release charge. Under the plea agreement, which has not been approved by O’Neil, the felony aggravated assault charged would be dismissed.

The plea agreement calls for a deferred disposition. Mowry would pay a fine of $800 and restitution of about $7,500. If he fails to comply with conditions that he have no contact with the victim and fails to pay restitution, he would be sent to jail for 364 days, with credit for the time he served following his arrest until he was able to post bail.

Moreland said he doesn’t agree with the proposed plea recommendation.

“They didn’t care if they killed me,” he said. “They left me in a snowbank.”

Moreland told the judge he has no memory of the beating and said he doesn’t know why it happened.

“To this day, I don’t know why they did this,” he said.

Moreland said he went to the bar to celebrate his return to work after being out for five months due to a shoulder injury. He said one of the men, Perez, asked him what he was looking at when he went into the bar, and that the men exchanged what he described as “bar banter” that got a bit confrontational. Moreland said he walked away to the other side of the bar, but the conversation got confrontational again. The beating took place when he went outside to go home, he said.

“I wanted more (of a sentence) than this,” he told O’Neil, “but that’s up to you.”

O’Neil said Moreland made some valid points about his injuries.

Avery, the prosecutor, noted the injuries were significant. The problem, Avery said, is that there are two defendants and that both struck Moreland. The beating was depicted on a video surveillance tape, but Avery said the video isn’t conclusive. He said it was a “close call,” but said the state would have a hard time proving the case against Mowry.

O’Neil said he wanted to review the videotape and scheduled the hearing to continue at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 19.

When deputies responded to the call, witnesses provided a description of a man who turned out to be Perez. York County Sheriff’s Deputy Travis Jones located him about an hour and a half later.

Mowry turned himself in to York County Sheriff’s Office deputies Feb. 10. Locke, during a February bail hearing, acknowledged Moreland’s injuries.

“But who did it, Jason (Mowry), who punched him, or Perez, who kicked him in the head?” said Locke.

Mowry’s criminal record includes a stint of six years in state prison on a robbery conviction, domestic violence assault, aggravated furnishing of drugs, possession of cocaine, disorderly conduct and more, stretching back to the late 1990s, according to Avery.

Both during the hearing and later, as he spoke to reporters, Moreland said he really doesn’t care about the money and could have listed far more expenses than the $7,500 in lost wages.

“I want them to go to jail,” he said. “I’m looking for jail. Money won’t fix my face or bring my eyesight back. I want these guys to be off the street.”

Moreland is back to work and had praise for his employer, Pike Industries, who moved him to a different job in light of his injuries.

“They stood behind me 110 percent,” he said. Moreland said he also appreciated the work of York County Sheriff’s Office and Maj. Bill King.

Avery, through an administrative assistant, said he had no comment on the plea agreement.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 or 282-1535, Ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.