Mississippi State's Jeffery Simmons Found Guilty Of Malicious Mischief

Jeffery Simmons, the five-star Mississippi State recruit that was shown beating a woman on a video recording, had his day in court Tuesday. Simmons was found guilty of malicious mischief, pleaded no contest to the charge of simple assault, and had a charge of disturbing the peace dropped.

The charges stem from an incident caught on camera and widely circulated in late March, in which Simmons and another woman punched and kicked Sophia Taylor during a street brawl. According to , the court ruled Tuesday the freshman will be required to pay $711 for Taylor’s medical bills, $475 for the charges, and $175 for damage to Taylor’s vehicle. Taylor will owe $225 for a charge of disturbing the peace.

After the video surfaced, Simmons apologized in a Facebook post and claimed Taylor started the incident by issuing some ill opinions about his deceased nephews. Mississippi State chose to suspend Simmons for one game, a decision that was not well defended by athletic director Scott Stricklin and head coach Dan Mullen during SEC media days.

Simmons will be available for Mullen and the Bulldogs starting with their Week 2 matchup against SEC foe South Carolina.