A Baltimore security guard pleaded guilty Dec. 17 to reckless endangerment after firing a gun into a crowd outside a Northwest Baltimore restaurant on March 7, wounding two people.
Ian Simmons II, 37, pleaded guilty to the charge under an amended agreement that prosecutors reached “after review of video footage of the altercation.”
Simmons initially faced attempted murder, assault and firearm charges in connection to the shooting, which occurred at a TGI Friday’s restaurant located on the 2400 block of Liberty Heights Avenue. The two injured victims sought treatment for their gunshot wounds at area hospitals. Simmons was seen discharging his firearm first into the air and then into a crowd in the restaurant’s parking lot.
In exchange for the plea, Simmons received a sentence of nine months-and-four days, suspending all but time already served. Simmons could have served four years-and-three months behind bars. His sentence will be followed by three years of supervised probation, and his remaining charges were dismissed per the terms of the agreement.
Prior to sentencing, the state argued that Simmons not only injured two victims but also endangered multiple bystanders when he discharged his firearm into the crowd. Simmons, a Prince George’s County resident and high school graduate, will have his probation supervision transferred to residential jurisdiction.
Judge McBride accepted the plea and imposed the agreed-upon sentence.
