A woman accused of aggravated assault in connection with a violent dispute that ended in a shooting nearly two years ago pleaded guilty Thursday, March 10 to reduced charges.
The charges against Lataisha S. Hill, 31, and two other women resulted from a situation that almost became a brawl at Hooters. Each woman was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two weapon violations in the May 9, 2019, encounter at the Washington Road restaurant.
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What happened between Hill, Aishah Shahid, 29, and Dechanta Benning, 31, began the night before when they ended up at the same nightclub as Crystal Merriweather and her friends, said Assistant District Attorney Ryne Cox. There was fighting and Merriweather said her phone was taken, which she tracked the next day. The search lead her to Hooter’s and to Hill and her friends.
Hill shot Merriweather in the leg, and the bullet passed through her body and into the body of Lyondo Ware who came with Merriweather, as did a couple carloads of others looking for a fight, Cox said. A self-defense claim was an issue in the case and reason for the plea negotiation, he said.
Defense attorney Keith Johnson said Hill may have had an imperfect self-defense claim because she shot before anyone shot at her, but she made a split-second decision because of what she was facing. Hill, a mother of three, had a license to carry the firearm, Johnson said.
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Chief Judge Daniel J. Craig accepted the negotiated sentence of seven years’ probation Thursday in Richmond County Superior Court. He also granted the defense’s request to sentence Hill under the First Offender Act, which will erase the charges from her record if she successfully completes her probation.
Hill pleaded guilty to a single count each of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
Shahid and Benning have pleaded not guilty to the same charges. Their cases are pending.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
