A meth-maker who beat his girlfriend will serve nearly a year in jail.The defendant, Joseph Clay Northcutt, 43, entered best-interest pleas to charges of domestic assault and promoting the manufacture of meth. He was ordered by Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to serve 360 days of an eight-year sentence and pay $2,000 plus costs.His charges were brought after deputies were dispatched to a residence where he had assaulted a woman.“She had been hit in the head and choked,” said deputy Jason Fowler of what he found when he arrived at the residence. “She had also been pushed down the steps with marks on her elbow.”It was during their investigation of the domestic assault that deputies found items commonly used in the production of meth.