A grandmother who hit Danville High School Principal Joseph Payne over the head with her cane will not serve any additional time in jail after pleading guilty Tuesday to reduced charges.
Pearlie Baskin, 54, of 936 Westwood Court, agreed to a probated sentence of one year in jail in exchange for pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges of fourth-degree assault and abuse of a teacher.
Baskin was originally charged with third-degree assault, a felony. She served four days in jail after she was arrested for the assault, which happened on the DHS campus in October after Baskin and her daughter came to the school to discuss problems her granddaughter was having with a male student.
As Baskin was leaving, she got into a verbal confrontation with the male student that later turned physical. When Payne intervened, Baskin struck him over the head with her cane, sending him to the hospital, where he received nine stitches. He returned to work the next day.
