SEATTLE – A former Mount Si High School student who was accused of beating up an Issaquah High School student has confessed to a lesser charge of fourth-degree assault.

Shaun Maurer, 19, originally pleaded not guilty to a second-degree assault charge in the Jan. 14 fight that involved more than 80 students from Mount Si and Issaquah High School. The fight left Jason Kauweloa, 17, of Issaquah with 100 stitches to his face.

Maurer had been expelled from Mount Si prior to the fight.

King County Prosecutors Office spokesman Dan Donohoe said the county agreed to a lesser charge because it would have had a difficult time proving Maurer did not act out of self defense with the second-degree charge.

The assault occurred after a run-in at a basketball game at Mount Si between students from the two high schools on Jan. 10. In his statement to King County Sheriff investigators, Kauweloa said there was a fight planned between the two schools near Southeast 79th Street in the High Point area near Issaquah on Jan. 14 after one set up immediately after the game

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