Three men previously charged with murder in the beating death of a 47-year-old Wai'anae man following a traffic stop pleaded guilty to first-degree assault this morning after an autopsy report could not conclude that the victim died as a result of the beating.

Julius F. Mitchell, 37; Lugavai L. Momoe, 33; and Dillion K. Lepolo, 24, were arrested and charged in September 2006 in the beating of Roger Haudenshild in the parking lot of a Wai'anae market following an altercation over a traffic mishap.

A medical examiner's office report concluded Haudenshild died of a heart attack but because of a pre-existing heart condition and a heart attack that occurred weeks earlier, the ME could not say that the beating caused the death.