GARY IN July 30 2018 — A 27-year-old man has pleaded guilty to aggravated battery for shooting a security guard in the chest last October outside a Gary night club.

D’Martell Woodson pleaded guilty Friday to aggravated battery, a level 3 felony, to resolve charges stemming from the man’s shooting Oct. 21 outside Temptations Nightclub, 6900 Melton Road, court records state.

Woodson admitted in the plea agreement he shot the bouncer after he was kicked out of the club for fighting. The bouncer required life-saving surgery as a result of the shooting, records state.

Woodson allegedly fled the club with a juvenile and two men – Althirty Hunter, 18, and Donald Payne, 20. All four suspects were arrested after a brief vehicle chase.

Hunter and Payne remain charged with two counts of resisting law enforcement for their alleged role in the incident.

In exchange for Woodson’s guilty plea, the Lake County prosecutor’s office agreed to dismiss his remaining charges, which include three counts of attempted murder and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.

A level 3 felony is punishable by three to 16 years in prison, but the parties agreed in the plea deal Woodson would not face more than 10 years in prison for the crime.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 24.

nwi.com

Share this post: on Twitter on Facebook