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Pittsfield man pleads guilty to blood assault

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) - A Pittsfield man police say deliberately sprayed blood on a nurse and others at a city hospital has been given a one-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to assault and battery and disturbing the peace.

Authorities say 64-year-old Ronald Bailey pulled out his IV line while at Berkshire Medical Center in August 2012 and was waving his hand around. He doused a nurse and also spilled blood on security staff, patients and other medical professionals.

There was a fear that Bailey had hepatitis C, a communicable disease, but tests showed he did not.

The Berkshire Eagle reports that Bailey said in court Friday he just wanted to leave the hospital and no one would help remove the IV line. He said he never deliberately got blood on anyone.