CHICORA — The apparent case of vigilante justice against three Alabama men accused of assaulting and hog-tying a suspected tractor thief ended abruptly on Tuesday.

The out-of-state trio and their target, who suffered a fractured skull and other injuries, all pleaded guilty to lesser charges of disorderly conduct, during an appearance before District Judge Lewis Stoughton.

In exchange, prosecutors agreed to withdraw all other charges, including felonies against the four defendants, who were each fined $300.

“This is a resolution of a disputed claim,” said Al Lindsay, attorney for Joseph S. Rice, 21, William H. Robinson, 23, and Jared R. Williams, 23, all of Tuscaloosa, following the court proceedings.

“My clients will soon be going back to Alabama, and they’re anxious to get this resolved.”

Attorney Armand Cingolani, who represents Mitchell A. Hilliard, 30, of Washington Township, also was satisfied.

“We’re pleased it’s over,” he said.

The separate criminal cases stem from a July 28 incident which state police claim started when Hilliard allegedly stole a John Deere tractor from a work site on Route 38 in Washington Township.

The tractor is owned by a Tuscaloosa-based gas pipeline subcontractor where Rice, Robinson and Williams work. The firm is working on a project at the Route 38 site.

The Alabama men were headed to work when they spotted Hilliard, who they did not know, driving the tractor on the road.

The three followed the tractor a short distance and stopped Hilliard. Soon after, police said, a three-on-one fight broke out.

When troopers got there, they found Hilliard tied up with straps. He also had serious head and facial injuries. He was later taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh

Police charged Rice, Robinson and Williams with aggravated assault, simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. Hilliard was charged with theft, simple assault, disorderly conduct and harassment.

Preliminary hearings for the four defendants were to be Tuesday. Instead, they each pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a third-degree misdemeanor.

The pleas followed an agreement between the defense attorneys and prosecutor Russ Karl, a county assistant district attorney, which ended the cases.

Stoughton ordered each defendant to pay a $300 fine, which also was part of the agreement.

“This was the right result based on the evidence,” Karl said outside the courtroom. “And all the defendants agreed to it.”

Even after the cases were resolved, both defense attorneys continued to defend their clients.

“I think everyone misunderstood what was going on that night,” Cingolani said. “My client is not a thief. He’s an honest man.”

A heavy equipment operator, Hilliard insisted that he believed the tractor that he took July 28 belonged to a different subcontractor, which had given him permission to use.

During his appearance Tuesday, Hilliard wore sunglasses to hide eye injuries suffered in the fight with the Alabama men.

Along with a fractured skull, he said he was treated at the hospital for a fractured orbital bone.

Lindsay called his clients “great guys” and dedicated employees. He said they would be returning home in “a couple of weeks.”