AIDS Patient Pleads No Contest in Attack

A North Hollywood man who prosecutors say knew he had AIDS when he bit and spit bloody saliva on law enforcement officers and a nurse pleaded no contest to assault Tuesday and was sentenced to four years in prison.

The plea agreement voided what attorneys said would have been the first trial in which a California jury would be called on to decide whether the deadly AIDS virus can be transmitted through bites and spitting, based on medical testimony. Michael L. Newbrough, 24, had faced four counts of assault with intent to commit great bodily injury and could have received a prison sentence of up to eight years if convicted.

Jacquelyn Lacey, deputy district attorney, cited the difficulty in proving that the disease can be transmitted in such a way and Newbrough’s lack of previous violent behavior as reasons the plea agreement was offered. None of the four men who were victims in the attacks May 15 and 16 have contracted the disease.