Brooklyn State Sen. Kevin Parker was convicted of misdemeanor charges but cleared of felony Tuesday afternoon in the beating of a photographer.

A Brooklyn Supreme Court Jury at 12:50 p.m. returned the verdict in the case involving a May 2009 attack on a New York Post photographer.
Parker faced seven years in prison if convicted of felony – and would automatically have lost his Senate post.

He rejected a plea deal to misdemeanor charges – which would have meant no automatic ouster from the Senate – and took his chances with a jury.

Prosecutors said Parker flew into a rage when the photog began snapping photos of him in connection with a story about the foreclosure of his Brooklyn home.

Parker was accused of trying to steal the journalist’s camera, breaking it, wrecking the interior of the photographer’s car, and smashing the victim’s finger.

(Source: NY Daily News)