The driver in a March shooting outside The Hawk, 1340 Ohio, received an 18-month probation sentence Friday for his role in the incident that injured three people.

Derek W. Foster, 24, of Stilwell, has already testified at a preliminary hearing against his friend, Joseph Muhammad, 22, the man accused of firing the shots from the vehicle.

Muhammad faces a July jury trial on three intentional aggravated battery charges. Douglas County District Judge Michael Malone on Friday ordered Foster to serve probation after he pleaded guilty in April to one count of aiding a felon.

Foster reached the plea deal with prosecutors after he was originally charged with three counts of aiding and abetting in connection with an aggravated battery.

Foster testified in April that as he and Muhammad left the bar, someone made a snide remark.

As the two of them drove past the bar, Foster said Muhammad pulled out a gun, leaned out the window and fired six to eight shots.

“It was a complete surprise to him when this fella pulled out a gun and started shooting,” defense attorney James Rumsey said on Friday.

Malone ruled that Foster, who now works for a Johnson County-based tile and flooring company, will have to serve 17 months in prison if he ever violates his probation terms.

Foster is required to submit to random alcohol and drug tests.

He also must repay probation program fees and other court costs.