Hays ? One of four former students at Fort Hays State University charged with the second-degree murder of a fellow student agreed to plead guilty to aggravated battery on Tuesday. He immediately fulfilled an agreement to testify against the other defendants.

Bradley D. Deary, 21, of Smithville, Texas, was among those charged with beating university freshman Clint W. Johnson, 18, with a baseball bat in November 2003 in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Johnson, of Healy, died two days after the assault at a Wichita hospital.

Deary was scheduled to appear Tuesday at a preliminary hearing, along with co-defendants Luis A. Llamas, 24, of San Diego; Jaime R. Lopez III, 24, of Chula Vista, Calif.; and Christopher R. Ross, 19, Wylie, Texas. All three are also charged with aggravated battery; Llamas and Lopez are also charged with intimidating a witness — Ross.

Instead, Deary agreed to plead guilty before Tuesday’s hearing, at which he testified. He was the first witness called by Assistant Atty. Gen. John Bork, and told the court he saw a fight between Llamas and Ross and Johnson.

“I seen him cock the bat getting ready to hit this guy twice in the head,” Deary said of Llamas.

Deary said Johnson “kind of folded up holding his head” after he was struck.

Bork said the incident was one of nine separate fights at the apartment complex. Llamas, Ross, and Deary were all members of the university’s football team.

Ellis County Atty. Tom Drees said Deary would plead guilty to the battery charge at a future date.