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Biker pleads no contest to rally fight, can avoid jail sentence

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A Hells Angels motorcycle gang member will not serve additional jail time for a Sturgis bar fight with an off-duty police officer who shot him during last August's motorcycle rally.

Joseph P. McGuire on Monday pleaded no contest to one count of simple assault. That allowed Judge Jerome Eckrich to enter a guilty verdict and impose the penalty. McGuire faced up to a maximum of one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Eckrich sentenced McGuire, 33, to one year in the Meade County Jail at Sturgis, but suspended the sentence as long as McGuire does not break the law. Eckrich did not impose fines but prohibited the Imperial Beach, Calif., man from attending any Sturgis motorcycle rally-related events this year.

Attorneys reached a plea agreement in the case. McGuire originally had been charged with alternative counts of aggravated assault or simple assault; he could have been convicted of one but not both.

Ronald Smith, the off-duty Seattle, Wash., officer, shot McGuire during a scuffle at the Loud American Roadhouse. Smith, a member of the Iron Pigs motorcycle group comprised of firefighters and police officers, was arrested and indicted by a grand jury but later freed after officials ruled he had acted in self-defense.

Meade County State's Attorney Jesse Sondreal said Smith accepted the simple assault charge against McGuire.

"It's time to put the case to rest," Sondreal said. He explained McGuire sustained serious wounds and had undergone multiple surgeries.

Attorney Angela Colbath said her client received two gunshots: one in the abdomen. She added it may be years before McGuire recovers, and he has been unable to work. Colbath estimated McGuire's medical bills at $500,000.

Monday's action means the case is complete.

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