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The guy who hit Tom Brady with a green laser pointer back in the AFC Championship game just fessed up to the crime ... but he'll avoid jail time after pleading guilty Wednesday.

64-year-old Dwyan Morgan was cited for disturbing the peace after he was accused of shining a laser pointer in TB12's eyes during the 4th quarter of the Jan. 20 Pats-Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium.

Morgan was facing time behind bars for the offense ... the charge carried a maximum of ONE YEAR in jail plus a $1,000 fine if he was convicted.

But, TMZ Sports has learned the judge decided to take things easy on Morgan after he pleaded guilty to the charge in court ... deciding only to hit him with a $500 fine.

We're told Morgan paid that off ... and the matter is now considered closed.

As we previously reported, sources close to Morgan told us he was a massive Chiefs fan who blamed an excessive amount of booze for the decision to break the laser out.

We're told Morgan had no intention to ever to hurt anyone ... and didn't expect things to blow up the way they did.