Former MMA Fighter Found Guilty Of Beating NY Police Officer

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AP) — A former mixed martial arts fighter has been convicted of assaulting an upstate New York police officer who suffered a fractured skull while trying to arrest the man.

A jury deliberated less than three hours Wednesday before finding 33-year-old James Hilton of Lake George guilty of a felony assault charge for the August 2015 attack that left Schenectady Police Officer Mark Weekes with serious injuries.

Authorities say Hilton was drunk on a Schenectady street when Weekes attempted to take him into custody. Hilton attacked the officer, punching him more than two dozen times and fracturing his skull.

The jury rejected Hilton's defense lawyer's claims that he suffers post-traumatic stress disorder from his service with the Marines in Iraq.

Hilton faces up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced Dec. 2.

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This story has been corrected to correct term to 'mixed' instead of 'mix' in first paragraph.