The lead guitarist for the rock group Rush and his son will not serve any prison time for the charges they were facing related to a New Year's Eve 2003 altercation with Collier County sheriff's deputies.
When the week began, Alex Zivojinovich and his son, Justin, were facing felony charges that could have resulted in several years behind bars.
On Thursday, each accepted a similar plea agreement that calls for a year of probation.
They walked out of the Collier County Courthouse smiling.
Alex Zivojinovich, known on stage as Alex Lifeson, preferred to let his written statement do the talking: "Today closes a difficult and painful period in the lives of my family, my friends and myself. But the sun is shining and it feels good."
As part of their "no-contest" plea agreements, they must pay $190 in court costs, $25 in prosecution costs, and a still-to-be-determined amount for investigative costs.
Alex is also required to pay restitution, with the amount to be decided later. A press release from the State Attorney's Office said it would be payable to the Ritz-Carlton, Naples hotel, where the incident occurred.
Prosecutor Rich Montecalvo said in court that restitution might be paid to Collier sheriff's Deputy Amy Stanford, who required medical treatment after she tumbled down the stairwell of the hotel during an altercation with Alex.
Alex was facing two felony battery-on-a-law-enforcement officer charges that each carried a potential five-year prison sentence.
Zivojinovich and his son were guests at the bash at the Ritz-Carlton, ringing in 2004 when the altercation with deputies occurred.
Justin and his friends agitated hotel security when they got onto a platform where the house band had been performing. Security called deputies, who escorted Justin out of the hotel with Alex following behind.
Witnesses who saw what happened in the stairwell as Justin was being escorted out gave conflicting statements. There was no security-camera recording.
Alex, who suffered a broken nose in the fracas, was accused by deputies of pushing Stanford down a stairwell and spitting his blood on another deputy. But John Cannivet, a former Ritz employee who watched the incident unfold, said the deputies were the aggressors.
"It was extreme police brutality," Cannivet, who was the assistant manager of stewarding until leaving that job in January, said in a recent interview. "The whole time all this was going down, I'm thinking, 'God, what did these people do? It must have been something really bad.' It just bothered me."
Witnesses said Alex was punched in the nose by a deputy as he charged up the stairwell of the hotel to go to the aid of his son, who was being zapped with a stun gun by deputies.
Alex also was shot repeatedly with the stun gun. The state made plea offers Thursday, a day after retired Senior Circuit Judge Charles T. Carlton reduced the third-degree felony charge that Justin was facing down to a misdemeanor.
Deputy Christopher Knott had testified that he felt threatened when Justin broke one arm free of a grip a deputy had behind Justin's back.
But Carlton ruled this wasn't enough to constitute a felony resisting charge.
Montecalvo said Carlton's ruling was a factor in the pleas. The prosecutor said Alex's case involved many of the same witnesses as Justin's. A judge also recently threw out a misdemeanor resisting-arrest charge against Justin's wife, Michelle.
"Given the court's rulings in both the Justin and Michelle Zivojinovich cases, we feel that this (plea) is an appropriate disposition of this matter," Montecalvo said in a prepared statement. "With the pleas, responsibility for their actions is placed where it belongs."
Asked in court if he felt justice had been served, Montecalvo replied: "Absolutely."
Janeice Martin, a partner in the firm of Berry & Day that was the defense team for Alex, told the judge that Alex would like to show a gesture of appreciation to the community for its support throughout this ordeal.
Alex Zivojinovich said he isn't sure right now what this will be. Asked if it could come in the form of a local concert, he replied: "Unlikely. This is an easy-listening area."
During questioning for potential jurors for Justin's trial, many cited easy-listening as their musical preference.
Justin Zivojinovich said he is relieved to have this case behind him.
"Now I can start living my life and enjoying it with my little boy," he said, adding that his child is 17 months old.
Justin's attorney, Michael McDonnell, was all smiles.
"I'm very happy for my client. This is probably one of the nicest families that I've ever had the pleasure to meet," McDonnell said.
The plea agreements required Alex and Justin to plead no contest to a single misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest without violence.
Adjudication is being withheld, meaning there will not be a formal conviction on their records if probation is successfully completed. They are going through the state's probation system, meaning they don't have to report to Collier County each month, but can send in information.
They also can travel freely in and out of the country.
Rush, which recently went on a 30th anniversary tour of the U.S. and abroad, is known for hits such as "Tom Sawyer," "Spirit of Radio" and "Fly By Night."
Alex Zivojinovich won Best Rock Talent in 1983 in the category "Guitar for the Practicing Musician." He was inducted into the Guitar for the Practicing Musician Hall of Fame in May 1991.
His Yugoslavian parents emigrated to Canada, and he bought a seasonal residence in Naples. His only formal training was during Rush's early days on the Toronto club circuit.
The Rolling Stone magazine Web site said Rush "carved itself a place in the prog-rock elite through three decades of popular releases."