A 37-year-old man who fired an AK-47-style pistol at teenagers playing Nerf Wars on an Anderson Township street in 2023 was sentenced Friday, Aug. 14, to six to seven and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to felonious assault and a gun specification.

Lamonte Brewer entered his plea in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court in connection with the March 6, 2023, shooting outside the Ayers Road home of former Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon. Prosecutors said Brewer fired 10 to 11 shots from a Zavasta pistol at the teens that night. One bullet struck a then-16-year-old neighbor in the foot. Others flew past the teen's head and hit the Nerf gun he was carrying, according to WLWT.

The victim was transported to Cincinnati Children's Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

As part of a plea deal with Hamilton County prosecutors, the state dropped additional charges including tampering with evidence and other gun counts. Brewer's state sentence will run concurrently with a five-year federal sentence he is already serving for unlawful transport of firearms.

Brewer has served 1,062 days since his arrest. Defense attorney Clyde Bennett II told FOX19 that Brewer is expected to be released in a couple of years with credit for time served.

'Our son's going to deal with this forever'

The teen's father delivered a victim impact statement in court, telling the judge his son was terrified for months after the shooting.

"For months, he was afraid to be near any windows. He would hide from windows, because he was afraid someone was coming by to 'finish the job,'" the father said. He added that while his son's physical wound healed, the psychological damage is permanent.

The sentencing judge told Brewer the shooting was senseless and that he had made a violent community no safer, according to WLWT.

How the shooting unfolded

The incident began when Shalonda Mixon, Joe Mixon's sister and Brewer's girlfriend at the time, told Mixon there were people outside with guns. The teens were actually carrying Nerf guns as part of a neighborhood game.

Brewer, a convicted felon legally prohibited from possessing a firearm, fired from the property. Hamilton County deputies stopped a black Honda Accord leaving Mixon's home shortly after. Shalonda Mixon was driving; Brewer was the passenger. The gun was found in the trunk, Local 12 reported.

Shalonda Mixon pleaded guilty in April 2024 to obstructing justice for picking up shell casings at the scene and attempting to drive away with Brewer. She was sentenced to three years of probation.

Joe Mixon was never charged. Prosecutors said he was seen carrying a firearm but did not fire any shots and, as a legal gun owner, committed no crime. The victim's family filed a civil lawsuit against Mixon that was settled for an undisclosed amount.

What's next

Following his Hamilton County sentencing, Brewer is to be transferred to Clermont County to face a separate pending case. No date has been announced for that proceeding.

Bennett said his client faced up to 17 years in state prison and up to 15 years in federal prison, and called the concurrent sentence resolution fair.