Demonte Latrell Simmons is a lucky man. The 22-year-old Minnesotan was facing prison time for shooting a man in a drug deal that turned into a robbery attempt back in 2022, but this week a judge in Olmsted County District Court gave him one of the softest plea deals that I’ve ever seen.
Simmons was originally charged with two felonies in connection with the shooting; first-degree attempted aggravated robbery and second-degree assault. Though he was eligible for a lengthy prison sentence, Olmsted County District Judge Kathy Wallace instead allowed Simmons to plead guilty to a single count of second-degree assault and sentenced him to probation.
Wallace also ordered Simmons to do some community service, and this is where his deal truly went off the rails.
He will also face 180 days of work release with seven days of credit for time served and must complete 100 hours of community service, half of which must come from speaking to students, Wallace ordered.
“You will educate others on the importance of what you learned today — how one wrong move can change your life,” Wallace told Simmons.
Simmons was offered a volunteer coaching spot for the Mayo High School football team. Wallace urged Simmons to work with the coaches to set up times for him to talk to students.
Say what now? Simmons shot a guy in a drug deal gone bad, and Wallace wants him hanging out with high school students at football practice? I don’t know about you, but I’d be livid if my son came home from practice and told me that his newest coach was there under court order.
Our kids shouldn’t be guinea pigs in Wallace’s experiments in criminal justice. The judge might believe that Simmons deserves a second chance, but given the circumstances of his arrest and plea deal it’s utterly ridiculous to involve juveniles in his community service.
According to the criminal complaint, Simmons and his brother, who was 16 at the time, were accused of attempting to rob a man after setting up a deal with him to buy a small amount of marijuana on May 2, 2022. After the man fled, Simmons was accused of firing at least six shots at the man’s vehicle, with one hitting the man in the leg.
When Rochester police arrived, the man told police he was shot in the leg, and police observed a large pool of blood, the complaint said.
The man told police both Simmons and his brother told the man to give them his stuff and started pulling on the windows of his vehicle. Simmons pulled a 9mm handgun and shot at the vehicle as it attempted to drive away, the complaint said.
Prosecutors are partly to blame here as well, even though they requested Simmons be sentenced to prison. They dangled the plea deal in front of him, and they knew that it would ultimately be up to the judge to decide what his sentence on the single misdemeanor should like. They also had to realize that the prospects of a lengthy prison term for a misdemeanor were slim-to-none, but that didn’t persuade prosecutor Eric Woodfurd to bring the case to trial.
Woodfurd alleged that Simmons intentionally discharging a gun at another person created a greater level of severity to the case.
According to Woodfurd, Simmons kept the gun for two months after the shooting. He said the state has concerns of placing Simmons back in the environment that led him to commit a crime.
Wallace agreed.
“You may have to separate yourself from your brother if he continues to go down the wrong path,” Wallace told Simmons.
Yeah, separate yourself from your teenage brother and go hang out with this larger group of juveniles instead.
This decision is so egregiously bad that Wallace should be facing the possibility of a recall. Thanks to the Minnesota Supreme Court, however, that’s off the table. According to the court, a judge “may not be recalled for the discretionary performance of a lawful act or a prescribed duty.” In other words, no matter how dangerous or ridiculous the sentence Wallace doles out, it will never be reason enough to remove her from office.
Wallace isn’t up for re-election until 2029, which gives her five more years to give defendants like Simmons second chances and the opportunity to influence juveniles in the community. I certainly hope that Simmons has turned his life around, but given the odds of recidivism its downright dangerous for Wallace to put him in a position of authority around juveniles before he’s proven that he’s changed his ways.
