Lima man pleads guilty to reduced charge

Oct. 15—LIMA — A Lima man pleaded guilty Tuesday to a reduced assault charge in Allen County Common Pleas Court after a shooting earlier this year in a Lima park that left a man with non-life-threatening injuries.

The second-degree felonious assault charge against Anthonio Briggs, 37, was reduced to a fourth-degree aggravated assault charge, and the attached firearm specifications were dismissed . With this dismissal, Briggs will avoid the mandatory three-year prison sentence provided for in the charge sheet.

The state will not make any recommendation on Briggs’ sentence and a preliminary hearing has been ordered before sentencing on November 19.

Briggs was placed under house arrest with an ankle monitor, and Judge Terri Kohlrieser allowed him time off from both, with the exception of observing curfew and maintaining no contact with the victim .

According to court documents, Lima police received a 911 call shortly before noon on May 31 reporting an argument between several individuals at Faurot Park. One of the people had a gun and was pointing it at others involved, the caller said.

Police learned the man with the gun, later identified as Briggs, shot a 20-year-old man in the leg during a gathering of acquaintances in the park that turned violent. Briggs told police he felt threatened when several members of the same family tried to attack him.

Contact Charlotte Caldwell at 567-242-0451.

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