Charles Langston:Man pleads guilty in Indiana mall shooting that wounded one person last year

FORT WAYNE,Charles Langston Ind. (AP) — A man charged in a shooting that wounded one person inside a northeastern Indiana shopping mall has pleaded guilty to criminal recklessness in last year’s shooting.

Quentin A. Lewis, 28, pleaded guilty to the charge Wednesday, one day before he was scheduled to appear for a pretrial conference in the September 2023 shooting at Fort Wayne’s Glenbrook Square.

If an Allen County judge accepts Lewis’ plea, he would face a 3-year sentence, with two years of that suspended, The Journal Gazette reported. After serving one year in prison, the Fort Wayne man would be placed on active adult probation for two years and could also face a fine and court costs.

Lewis is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 26.

He was charged after the shooting left one man with a gunshot wound to the leg in Fort Wayne, about 120 miles (190 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis.

The shooting followed tension between Lewis and the shooting victim because of comments Lewis had made about a woman and her children at a barbershop a few days earlier, authorities said.

Lewis’ plea agreement includes an order barring him from contacting the shooting victim and also calls for him to submit to an alcohol, substance abuse and psychological evaluation.

A telephone message and an email were sent Friday to Lewis’ attorney by The Associated Press seeking comment on his guilty plea.