CINCINNATI — A Hamilton County Juvenile Court judge dismissed charges Oct. 6 against a Cincinnati teen who had been in custody for two shootings because the "essential witness" was scared and showed no sign that he would testify.

The WCPO 9 I-Team was in court as the prosecutor requested a continuance.

"You cannot proceed without that witness — is that correct," Judge Melissa Powers asked the prosecutor.

"Yes," the prosecutor replied.

The defendant had been held at the Hamilton County Youth Center for seven months, according to his defense attorney.

Lot Tan

"These matters will be dismissed for want of prosecution," Powers said from the bench. "If the witness comes forward, the charges can be refiled."

How often does this happen?

"It's more frequent than you would like," Powers said to the I-Team.

The dramatic surge in Cincinnati shootings during the pandemic prompted a law enforcement crackdown on felons caught with illegal firearms. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said uncooperative witnesses make it harder to hold those violent criminals accountable for their actions.

"It's really quite sad, because it feeds into that whole problem if people don't step up," Deters said.

Mitch Morris, who works with youth through the Cincinnati Works Phoenix Program, said many witnesses fear "retaliation" because they live near suspects in neighborhoods where shootings have killed people.

"When they talk about retaliation, it's serious," Morris said. "It's for real."

Despite possible fear, Morris said many witnesses are cooperating with police.

"They've been reaching out trying to say something about these shootings, so I can see a change coming," Morris said.

Still, some families of victims are still waiting for much-needed witnesses. LaVonda Evans said she is waiting for someone to come forward with enough evidence to charge the person responsible for the death of her 16-year-old son, LaDarius. LaDarius Evans was shot and killed during a quadruple shooting in June.

Courtesy of LaVonda Evans

Evans spoke at an Aug. 3 city council committee hearing asking city leaders to focus on answers to the community's gun-related violence.

"This was a loss that I had to take,” Evans said. “Half of my heart is gone, and this is what he'd want me to do."

Now, she's hopeful witnesses will overcome their fears and provide the evidence needed to prosecute her son's killer.

You can report information anonymously to police through Crime Stoppers online and by calling 513-352-3040.

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CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati police officer, accused of storing completed rape kits in his police locker and failing to turn them in to prosecutors, is expected to plead guilty to dereliction of duty as soon as next week, according to his criminal defense attorney, Mike Allen.

Officer Christopher Schroder, repeatedly praised by his police supervisors in recent years for his investigative work, is now suspended with pay following an internal CPD investigation.

"These allegations are incredibly disturbing," wrote Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters Wednesday in a statement provided to WCPO 9 News. "We are working closely with our partners in the Cincinnati Police Department to determine the extent to which these allegations have effected investigations."

"Following the appointment of new leadership at our Criminal Investigations Section in June of 2021 an audit was conducted, and that is how this situation involving Officer Christopher Schroder was brought to light," said Police Chief Eliot Isaac in a written statement released Wednesday. "As soon as the department uncovered this distressing information, swift action was taken."

CPD investigators completed a "comprehensive review of all the cases assigned to Officer Schroder since being assigned to the Personal Crimes Squad has been conducted. Any case that requires action has been prioritized and reassigned," Isaac's statement said.

The CPD declined to respond to the WCPO 9 I-Team's questions about the case or how the police department was apparently unable to account for missing rape kits until recently.

"We have received all your questions, but this is an on-going criminal investigation," CPD Spokeswoman Emily Szink wrote in an email response to our questions.

Schroder's police personnel records show in 2016 he failed to pick up four rape kits for months at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

On Dec. 21, 2016, Sgt. David Simpson met with Schroder "to discuss the importance of picking up rape kits and processing them in a timely manner," according to Schroder's police personnel records.

Micaela Deming, policy director of the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, says delays in prosecuting sexual assault cases create more trauma for survivors.

"I have absolutely spoken with survivors months after still waiting for answers an that makes it difficult," Deming said. "It makes it difficult to heal."

Deming says it's concerning that it required a police audit to find missing rape kits.

In his statement, Isaac said that CPD was focused on making sure something like this doesn't happen again.

Schroder's personnel records show supervisors gave him an overall rating of 'exceeds standards' for each of his last five annual performance reviews.

That includes 2016 when a supervisor counseled Shroder for failing to pick up rape kits for months at Children's Hospital.

CPD said the department took away Schroder's policing powers in August following initial findings of the audit.

Schroder is suspended with pay, according to CPD, pending the outcome of the investigation.

Allen told the WCPO 9 I-Team Wednesday that Schroder had reached an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of dereliction of duty.

But in a statement Thursday, Deters said prosecutors haven't reached a plea agreement with Schroder because all parties haven't signed off on it and it must be approved by a judge.

CINCINNATI — Prosecutors claim a man arrested this month for pointing a gun at a federal agent is also responsible for the Feb. 9 murder of Roop Gupta, a Madeira convenience store owner shot dead at work during a robbery.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters announced Wednesday that 35-year-old Lamond Johnson now faces 13 charges in connection to the two incidents — murder and aggravated murder the most serious among them. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.

According to Deters, Johnson committed two robberies on the night of Gupta’s death: One at Madeira Beverage, where Gupta was shot and killed, and another at a Sunoco gas station in Blue Ash.

Johnson evaded identification and capture for nearly a month afterward. Madeira neighbors raised money for Gupta’s family and mourned the store-owner, who had been shot once before while working.

“How could this happen?” said Heidi Welti, a neighbor who raised money for the Gupta family both times. “Here’s a wonderful guy. He’s supporting his family. All he’s trying to do is make a living.”

On March 7, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to stop Johnson’s car. He fled and intentionally struck an ATF vehicle with an agent inside, according to Deters; reports that day indicate he also pointed a gun at the agent.

That gun ultimately linked him to the Madeira shooting, Deters said. Analysts confirmed it had been used in the attack on Gupta.

“My thoughts are with Mr. Gupta’s family, and the entire Madeira community,” Deters wrote in a news release on Wednesday. “I am thankful to the Cincinnati Police Department, the Madeira Police Department, and the ATF for the work they put into putting an end to this crime spree. Our community is safer today because of their hard work.”

CINCINNATI — Twenty additional police officers went on patrol across the city Friday night. Many walked; some biked. Chief Eliot Isaac said he hopes having more officers out in the community will calm Cincinnatians’ nerves and discourage crime after a deadly July 4 shooting in Smale Park.

“Good idea,” said Ingrid Robinson, who went for a walk in the park Friday with her great-nieces and nephew. “And I think it keeps some of the, excuse my language, riff-raff away, the troublemakers. They need that down here."

Sixteen-year-old Milo Watson died at Smale on July 4. Police believe he was shot by — and was shooting at — 19-year-old Dexter Wright, who died shortly afterward at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Three other teenagers were struck in the crossfire but survived.

Neither gun had been recovered by Friday night.

District 1 commander Capt. Matthew Hammer, whose district includes Over-the-Rhine, Pendleton and the West End, began overseeing increased foot patrols in his neighborhoods several months ago.

"Our presence (is) so that we can monitor the situation, so we can provide a sense of safety and security and make sure folks know that we're here, available, we're ready and willing to act if necessary,” he said Friday. "It's all about being agile, it's about having the right resources available at the right places at the right time. So depending on how we organize our officers, if we can have a contingent that can respond quickly as circumstances change throughout the city, I think that's really useful.”

Tammy Marhart, who lives along the riverfront, visited Smale on Friday, too.

“It makes me feel pretty safe,” she said of the added police presence. “It’s just something that I feel like that will be noticed, and it’ll make people feel safe all over.”

HAMILTON COUNTY, Ohio —

A controversial police tactic is getting pitched as a way to crack down on Cincinnati's street violence.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters is floating the idea of "stop and frisk" for Cincinnati police.

"'Stop and frisk' is not the answer, it's not a solution, it is not an option for the Cincinnati police department," Cincinnati Activist Iris Roley said.

"It's received a connotation of racism, which I think is wrong," Deters said.

Since Sunday's deadly shooting in Smale Park involving two teenagers, Deters has thrown out "stop and frisk" as a potential solution.

"I told Eliot this, they're the police officers, they can sift policy and do whatever they want. We deal with it afterwards. I just told him, you do have the ability, if these officers think that someone's carrying or they're a danger to the officer to 'stop and frisk' them," Deters said.

Northern Kentucky University law professor Michael Mannheimer said the threshold for reasonable suspicion is fairly low. He says while the constitution forbids intentional discrimination, it doesn't speak to implicit bias.

"We just have no legal doctrine to deal with it in this area. The most we can do is train police officers on implicit bias," Mannheimer said.

"Are there racist people out there? Of course there are, but that doesn't mean that we just ignore criminals," Deters said.

Roley said the police chief and Mayor Cranley have told her this will not be acceptable.

CINCINNATI — The Hamilton County prosecutor announced his intention to cut down on crimes involving illegal guns in Cincinnati.

Joe Deters referred to it as “declaring war” in a Tweet Tuesday afternoon.

He said he has directed all assistant prosecutors in the county to reject plea-bargain deals on any cases involving gun violence or possession of illegal guns.

“It’s time for this nonsense to end,” Deters Tweeted.

The announcement comes two days after two teenagers killed each other in a double-fatal shooting at Smale Riverfront Park during Fourth of July festivities.

CINCINNATI — The man charged with murder in the death of a 6-month-old in Avondale could face life in prison, Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters announced Friday afternoon.

In a news release, Deters said a grand jury indicted Leandre Glenn on two counts of murder, one count of endangering children, one count of carrying a concealed weapon and one count of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle in connection with the death of 6-month-old Christopher Walter.

"If convicted on all counts, he faces the maximum possible sentence of life in prison," read the news release.

Deters went on to cite the coroner's report, which stated that the infant died from strangulation, traumatic brain injury and blunt impacts to the head.

Walter was in Glenn's care at the time of his death on June 15, Deters said.

"It's been a tough year," Deters said in the release. "I don't know what would ever possess someone to do this to anyone, let alone such a young baby."

CINCINNATI — The office of Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters announced a murder indictment Thursday for LaTonya Austin after the body of Austin's 2-year-old granddaughter was found in a cooler on her property.

Austin was arrested and charged with gross abuse of a corpse in May. Court documents based on police testimony claim she “placed the deceased body of her granddaughter… into multiple trash bags, then placed the bags into a cooler” on April 9, 2021.

Now, the Hamilton County Coroner's Office ruled the child's death a homicide caused by blunt-force trauma. The coroner's office also said her body had various injuries incurred after she died.

Austin now faces one count of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of gross abuse of a corpse. Austin could face life in prison if convicted on all counts.

"As a father and a grandfather, I am sick," Deters said. "It is impossible to comprehend the depravity of an individual able to not only strike a 2-year-old so hard to cause her death, but to then attempt to conceal that crime by stuffing the child’s lifeless body into a cooler."