An Olney man is expected to spend more than 50 years in prison for his involvement in a July fight that escalated to include a shooting outside the Sole D’Italia restaurant in Silver Spring, according to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Michael Boyd Jr., 40, was sentenced Wednesday in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville to 90 years in prison, with all but 55 years suspended, and five years of supervised probation upon release, the state’s attorney’s office said in a statement.
A jury convicted Boyd Jr. on April 4 of two counts of first-degree assault and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in connection with the July 13 shooting outside of the restaurant in the 14300 block of Layhill Road in Silver Spring, Wednesday’s statement said.
Boyd along with four other people were shot during the incident and another person was injured by bullet fragments. He had faced up to 90 years in prison.
“We often hear from community members who are sick of this sort of gratuitous violence. The judge echoed those sentiments today,” State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in the statement. “We are thankful for the message this sentence sends, that anyone who engages in this course of conduct will face serious consequences.”
The statement did not say whether anyone else faces charges in the shooting.
According to charging documents, a verbal altercation that quickly escalated to a physical fight began around 12:11 a.m. July 13 between multiple restaurant patrons behind the restaurant. Surveillance video footage showed Boyd arriving at the scene around 12:14 a.m., charging documents indicated.
Boyd approached the group and pointed a gun at several people before getting into the middle of the fight, charging documents stated. Shortly after, shots were fired and the crowd quickly dispersed. Boyd then ran between cars, jumped over a fence and ran around a dumpster at the scene, according to charging documents.
Around 12:17 a.m., officers responded to the scene for a report of a shooting and found Boyd with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to charging documents. In addition to Boyd, officers found four other people who had been shot and another victim who was injured by bullet fragments, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office.