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Former Madison County Deputy Justin Watson at Huntsville Hospital on the night of of Aug. 22, 2012 (Madison County Sheriff's Department)

Justin Watson, a former deputy for the Madison County Sheriff's Department, pleaded guilty today to lying under oath.

In exchange for his plea, the federal government agreed to drop four other charges related to the traffic stop and revenge attack on Robert Bryant, a handyman from Kelso, Tenn.

The agreement calls for a sentence of 33 to 41 months in a federal prison, although U.S. District Judge Karen Bowdre repeatedly noted that she is not bound by the agreement and could impose a more severe prison term. She told Watson that the maximum sentence would be 20 years in prison.

The sentencing hearing is not yet scheduled.

Watson, with his wife and father two rows back, faced the judge on the second floor of the federal courthouse in Huntsville just after noon today. The exact federal charge is obstruction of justice, misleading conduct.

"Mr. Watson, how do you plead to this charge?" asked Bowdre.

"Guilty," said Watson, who quit the force last spring.

In August, federal authorities indicted Watson on five counts: two related to the stop and beating of Bryant, one related to lying about it under oath and two more related to intimidating witnesses.

In the end, the federal prosecutors dropped the other four charges in favor of the one most easily proven in court, as the Madison County sheriff's department itself has documented that Watson lied on the witness stand.

Watson's misleading testimony came in December of 2012, four months after the traffic stop. Bryant two years later would receive $625,000 to drop a lawsuit alleging he was beaten by several deputies at the roadside. But he had initially been charged with assaulting Watson.

During the preliminary hearing for Bryant's felony charge, Watson testified that he did not recognize and did not know Bryant at the time of the traffic stop on Aug. 22, 2012. But a police investigation established that Watson and Bryant had been in a barfight weeks earlier.

The FBI during a bond hearing in August introduced text messages showing that Watson had been searching for Bryant for weeks in the summer of 2012 and was following Bryant the night of the stop.

Today federal prosecutors gave a brief outline of the evidence and what they would attempt to prove at trial, saying Watson and Bryant had been in a barfight at Billy's Sports Bar in Hazel Green in July of 2012.

"Over the next several weeks defendant searched for Robert Bryant," said prosecutor Christopher Perras for the U.S. Department of Justice.

He said Watson was looking for Bryant on the night of Aug. 22, 2012 before tailing and then stopping him. "Defendant Watson hit Bryant in the face and choked Bryant with his baton until he was unconscious." Watson then said that Bryant had attacked him. Then he lied about not knowing Bryant in state court.

"Are these facts substantially correct?" asked Judge Bowdre.

"Most of them are ma'am, but I never punched him in the face," said Watson.

The distinction was unclear, although his public defender suggested there was not a simple punch without provocation. In the end, both sides agreed to use the word "struck."

Bowdre asked repeatedly if Watson understood what was happening. "Did you do the thing Mr. Perras said you did?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Watson.

"Did you testify falsely under oath?"

"Yes ma'am."

However, Watson told the judge he did not make false statements in order to prevent a federal investigation, which is in the wording of the federal charge.

"I believed at the time I was giving the best answer I could," said Watson.

After some time, the judge rephrased, asking if he knew that his testimony could hinder a federal civil rights investigation. "Yes, ma'am," he said.

She asked if he understood that the true facts stated in state court could lead to communication with a federal law enforcement officer. "Yes, ma'am."

Do you want to change your mind and plead not guilty? "No, ma'am."

Madison County dropped the felony assault charge against Bryant in November of 2013, 10 days after Bryant's noisy benefactor Jason Klonowski was found dead behind his home north of Huntsville. Klonowski was shot three times in the back of the head one month after holding a rally in support of Bryant and promising to see Watson and others imprisoned.

A department investigation into the traffic stop and false testimony was called off by seniors officers in December of 2012. In the weeks after the murder, deputies would once again revisit the traffic stop and rediscover the false testimony. In January of 2014, Watson was suspended for two weeks for lying in court in December of 2012.

Bryant sued in April of 2014, naming Sheriff Blake Dorning, Watson and seven other deputies in the beating. The county settled for $625,000 in August of 2014. The FBI began its investigation into potential civil rights violations by law enforcement in August of 2014.

Dorning was re-elected in November of 2014. No other deputies were disciplined or charged in the matter. The Klonowski murder remains unsolved.

Update on Jan. 21 at 11:30 a.m. The sentencing hearing has been scheduled for June 10 at 9 a.m. at the federal courthouse in Huntsville.