In a straightforward admission of guilt, Derek Don Hopkins entered a no contest plea to two counts of misdemeanor battery against city officials, with the Yuba County Superior Court witnessing the concession. The counts stem from an August 22 incident that targeted Mayor Chris Branscum and City Councilman Dom Belza of Marysville, as detailed in a Facebook post from the Yuba County District Attorney's Office.

Hopkins, choosing to forego a plea agreement, now faces the prospect of up to six months in county jail for each count of battery — a judgment to be delivered on September 30, at 1:30 p.m., in an effort to see justice served and community standards upheld though the particular circumstances of the assaults seem random, lacking evidence of a personal vendetta or even Hopkins's awareness that his victims were anything more than bystanders until Councilman Belza intervened and Hopkins became the one pursued.

It was during a meeting with Congressman Doug LaMalfa, to discuss the remnants of Hotel Marysville, that Branscum and Belza along with fellow city officials were confronted and assaulted, Marysville Police responded to the scene where the mayor was punched unawares and Belza sustained a facial blow before physically detaining Hopkins until police arrived Chief of Police Chris Sachs then took custody of Hopkins, ensuring the assailant's swift recourse to legal accountability.

"I am so thankful to live in a community where we look out for one another," District Attorney Clint Curry expressed on the Yuba County District Attorney's Office the relief and communal pride in Belza's actions.