SMETHPORT — A Bradford man will serve time in state prison for an assault that left another man blind in one eye.

Jeffery W. Morton, 44, was sentenced Thursday in McKean County Court to five to 10 years in prison with credit for 49 days of time served. He was ordered to pay $3,326.75 in restitution to Bradford Regional Medical Center and $149.25 in restitution to Matthew Gross, the victim of the assault.

Morton pleaded guilty in March to allegations that on Dec. 20, 2015, Morton punched Gross in the face.

Court records filed at the time of Morton’s arrest indicated he punched Gross so hard that he suffered facial fractures by his right eye and had to have immediate surgery.

On Thursday, Morton did not agree to his fate quietly.

At the start of the lengthy sentencing hearing, Morton disputed a claim by President Judge John Pavlock that Morton at one point told his attorney he wanted to withdraw the guilty plea he made March 23 to a first-degree felony charge of aggravated assault.

“There’s been no clarity between the multiple attorneys I’ve had,” said Morton. “I could have done better on my own.”

Multiple attorneys have represented Morton in the assault case since he was first charged in December 2015. An online criminal docket shows that Ridgway attorney Christopher Martini and Bradford attorneys Daniel Lang and Casey Graffius each represented Morton, then withdrew as counsel.

On Thursday, Morton was represented by St. Marys attorney Steven Johnston, who was appointed by the court to the case.

Despite having counsel, Morton chose to do most of the talking, with Johnston saying little.

Morton brought a copy of the motion Graffius filed when he withdrew as counsel and had Pavlock read a part, then he provided a copy of the letter Graffius sent Morton when he withdrew.

Graffius was Morton’s attorney at the time he entered his plea.

Morton indicated that at no time did he want to withdraw his guilty plea but said Graffius filed paperwork demanding the case go to trial after the plea was entered.

Talking about his attorneys in general, Morton said at one point, “They set me up for trial every time, then withdraw at the last minute.”

According to Morton, there were four things he asked for from his attorneys when agreeing to plead guilty: his credit for time served, documentation of Gross’ medical bills to back up the restitution, a copy of his case file and legal envelopes and a legal tablet.

During the course of the discussion, Pavlock agreed that Morton should get a copy of the medical bills and case file, and he told Morton he would get credit for time served.

However, he advised Morton — who said he had been incarcerated on and off for a year and a half for the case — that some of the incarceration time may have been for something else, such as a parole violation, so it may not all go toward the case he was in court for that day.

Morton disagreed that he could have been incarcerated for any other reason, saying that, while he had been on state parole, he had neither “technical violations” nor any revocation hearings related to the assault case.

“I just know that I’ve been serving time off and on for a year,” he said.

The court took a recess to give the Commonwealth time to make a copy of the medical bills for Gross.

When everyone returned, Morton took a few minutes to read through the papers, then spent a few more minutes pointing out any grievances he found. Pavlock granted Morton’s request not to award restitution to Gross’ girlfriend, who paid some medical fees on Gross’ behalf.

While Morton was arguing the point about paying restitution to her, Pavlock stopped him to say, “You win. You don’t need to say anything else because you win.”

For other grievances that Morton brought later about restitution and credit for time served, Pavlock pointed out that he could file a motion for reconsideration.

Gross and his girlfriend — who has cared for him since his injury — each spoke in court about the impact of the assault.

She said her daily life is a constant reminder of what happened. She explained to Pavlock that Gross is blind in his right eye, has numbness in his face and might be going in a for a third surgery related to his injuries.

“That day (Morton) showed very little respect for a human and how much of a monster he could be,” she noted at one point.

In addition to medical bills, there have been lost wages, gas money spent and vehicle wear-and-tear related to her and his family throughout his treatment, but “the most costly effect we pay is for Matt himself,” she said, explaining, “Mr. Morton broke him in a way that no person should be broken: not just physically, but mentally.”

For his part, Gross described how the assault changed his everyday life, causing not only pain and numbness in his face, but also “massive depression.” He told Pavlock, “I’m asking for a punishment deserving of the crime.”

Assistant District Attorney Sean Barrett was hopeful Pavlock would follow the plea agreement — which asked for 5 to 10 years of incarceration.

Barrett made note of Morton’s lengthy criminal record, saying it would “take too long” to read in court, and added that the sentence would provide some protection to the community.

Johnson asked Pavlock to follow the plea agreement.

Providing a last statement prior to sentencing, Morton said, “First of all, I want to apologize to Matt Gross. I mean that.” He said he learned while he was incarcerated that engaging in an “unsavory lifestyle” had an impact on one’s life, and “cocaine addiction caused this to happen.” “At the end of the day it was an unfortunate thing and it was an accident,” Morton said. “It was a one-punch thing.”

Pavlock said, “Why am I about to impose the sentence that I am? It’s because this is what the parties have negotiated.” He added they “could spend hours talking about a lot of issues that came up.”

He imposed the sentence and talked to Morton about his rights.

“I would like to file an appeal for modification of sentence,” Morton said, but Pavlock advised him to talk to Johnson about it.

Assistant Chief of Probation Jodi Tanner, who was figuring out the credit for time served during the hearing, came up with a total of 49 days, which included time he was incarcerated for a second assault case, which was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

“I was looking for at least 90 days,” said Morton, disagreeing with the total.