A 30-year-old man plead guilty to assault in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas Monday.

Mark E. Rowland, of Washington C.H., was facing a second-degree felony charge of robbery following an incident April 23, when it was alleged he stole a bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey from another man.

According to the report, Rowland was walking with a 27-year-old man across the parking lot from Kroger on Clinton Avenue in Washington C.H. It was reported that near the Shell gas station, Rowland punched and kicked the man he was walking with, took the bottle of whiskey, and ran off.

Upon reviewing the facts of the case, a Fayette County grand jury charged Rowland with a misdemeanor assault charge instead of a felony robbery charge.

During the court proceeding Monday, Rowland told Steven Beathard, Fayette County Court of Common Pleas Judge, that he was friends with the man he was walking with and the two had gone into the Kroger store together to buy the bottle of Jack Daniels.

“We were both drinking and he put his hand on me a little more aggressively,” said Rowland, who felt the contact was more aggressive than necessary and responded by punching the man.

Rowland appears in court for sentencing Sept. 26.