NEW YORK, March 2: A former CIA contractor, who was involved in a fatal attack in Pakistan, pleaded guilty on Friday to a misdemeanour assault charge in Highlands Ranch (Colorado) court.

Raymond Allen Davis was charged in a fight outside a Highlands Ranch bagel shop in October 2011, a Denver TV channel reported.

The charge could cost Davis hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay off Jeff Maes, the victim in the case.

Davis and Maes had fought over a parking spot outside the bagel shop.

Maes told Denver TV that he had pulled into a parking spot when Davis pulled up behind him and started shouting.

“I said, ‘You need to relax.’ And he got out of the car,” Maes said. “When I got hit, I went back, I hit my back straight on the concrete,” he said.

Maes said his daughters, aged 6 and 8 at the time, cried after witnessing the fight.

Maes said he didn’t learn until afterward that Davis also worked for the CIA.

Maes claims the fight injured his back and neck and is now suing Davis in civil court.

Davis’ attorney, William Frankfurt, disputes the claim that Maes suffered a fractured vertebrae. He said Maes might have injured himself by allegedly trying to tackle Davis during the altercation.

Davis was initially charged with felony assault, misdemeanour disorderly conduct, and a charge of crime of violence.

However, on Friday, he pleaded to the reduced charge of third-degree assault.

Davis was sentenced to two years of probation, ordered to write a letter of apology and must attend anger management classes. He must also pay restitution but the amount has not been calculated.

Maes’ attorney, Larry Klayman, classified the fight as a “brutal attack” and opposed the plea which calls for no prison time. Davis’ attorney said his client planned to return to Washington D.C. area soon for work and asked the judge to grant Davis permission to carry a weapon. The judge agreed.

Davis was jailed in Pakistan on Jan 27, 2011, after he shot and killed two men as he sat in his car on a Lahore road.

Davis said he shot the men in self-defence as they tried to rob him. He claimed the two men attacked him as he drove through a busy Lahore area.

Reuters adds: Davis was acquitted of murder and allowed to leave Pakistan after a $2.3 million payment was made to the slain men’s families.

Then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at the time that the US government did not pay the “blood money” but would not reveal who did.