Koa Misi pleads no contest to 2011 charge

Published Oct. 19, 2012 9:49 p.m. ET

foxsports

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) -- Miami Dolphins linebacker Koa Misi has pleaded no contest to felony battery and paid $42,000 to a Santa Barbara County resident he punched in the face.

Prosecutors say a man on an Isla Vista apartment balcony made nasty comments to Misi and his friends as they walked down the street in April 2011.

Misi broke down the apartment door and struck 19-year-old Casey Scott Fisher.

As part of a plea deal, the 6-foot-3, 251-pound football player pleaded no contest Thursday to battery causing serious bodily injury.

The Santa Barbara News-Press says Misi paid Fisher for medical expenses and agreed to 400 hours of community service.

The judge is expected to reduce the count to a misdemeanor during sentencing in February.

Defense lawyer Adam Braun declined to comment.