The State of Ohio agreed to reduce the charges to a misdemeanor from the original felony charges in January 1999 of felonious assault with a firearm specification.

"In our opinion, the reduced charge and the $250 fine are a reflection of the fact that the evidence did not support the original charge and the positive strides Stanley Howse has made in his life with his music, his band, and of course, his family," said Howse's lawyer Edmund W. Searby of McDonald Hopkins. "We are grateful to the Prosecutor's Office for re-evaluating the facts of this case," Searby further said.