Another 16 local people have been arrested as part of an effort to charge those involved in gun crime under harsher federal laws in U.S. District Court, officials said Thursday.
The rising tide of gun violence reached a peak last summer. Homicides were stacking up and 180 people were shot in June, July and August. That's nearly two a day.
In response, the city and the Cincinnati Police Department announced a partnership last September with the ATF and the federal prosecutors: those involved in gun crime locally would be charged at the federal level if possible.
The most common crime they have pursued is possessing a weapon as a felon. In Ohio, the maximum sentence for that crime is three years. Under federal law, the maximum sentence is 10 years.
There have been over 50 cases so far, U.S. Attorney Vipal Patel told the press Thursday.
Among the 16 who face indictments is Carl Godfrey who is facing local murder charges. Police said Godfrey and a group of three other men and a 14-year-old were responsible for four killings this year .
Another defendant, Kendall Black, led police on a six-mile chase last October that ended in a crash, prosecutors said.
These indictments come as the city reels from a high-profile shooting on July 4 in the heart of Downtown that left two teens dead and another three wounded .
But Patel couched Friday announcement saying: "Enforcement alone is not and can not be the only solution."
Mayor John Cranley said the city increased its funding for human services and has given money to the Urban League, Women Helping Women and programs aimed at preventing violence.
"We are taking a comprehensive approach," Cranley said.
Patel said that following the previous indictments from this partnership gun violence dipped in the city, albeit temporarily.
Since the shooting on Independence Day, police have increased weekend patrols and are working toward the launch of their Gun Crime Intelligence Center next month, Chief Eliot Isaac said. He said Thursday that all aspects of the community need to work together to reduce the violence.
"This is all of our problems," Isaac said. "Everyone has a piece of this."
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