I didn’t read all the responses to find out where this incident occurred. It would be my belief that this is a second degree misdemeanor punishable by 1000 fine and/or 30 days jail. I would tell him to plea straight up to the judge and leave the prosecutor out of it. You roll dice but what’s the worst that can happen?
PA is always a different jurisdiction. But we have something for this called “nolo contendre.”
It’s not even “not guilty” it is “no contest.” It means you will not make an issue of anything, you just want to know the minimum penalty.