Former Bourne official gets 9 months after admitting assault

FALMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — A former member of a Massachusetts town’s governing board has pleaded guilty to attacking his girlfriend and threatening her with a baseball bat.

Former Bourne selectman Michael Blanton pleaded guilty Tuesday to assault and battery on a household or family member, strangulation or suffocation, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

The Cape Cod Times reports that the 50-year-old Blanton is currently serving a jail term for a previous assault.

The judge sentenced Blanton to 2 ½ years in jail with nine months to serve. As part of an agreement, prosecutors dropped two related cases.