NORTHWEST PRESS Your Community Press newspaper serving Colerain Township, Green Township, Sharonville, Springdale, Wyoming and other Northwest Cincinnati neighborhoods
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2019 ❚ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS ❚ PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
Arrests made in mass shooting at fake gender-reveal party Connections found with several drug rings Jennie Key and Kevin Grasha Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
On the day after Christmas, more than a year after a mass shooting in Colerain Township, police announced the arrest and indictment of three men accused of the murder of Autum Garrett and the shooting of eight others, including three children. Indicted by a Hamilton County grand jury Dec. 11 were: Roshawn Bishop, 28, two counts murder, two counts felonious assault and attempted murder. He has been incarcerated at Mansfield Correctional Institution since February on charges of drug trafficking and a weapons violation. James Echols, 23, aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, two counts murder, nine counts felonious assault, eight counts attempted murder and cruelty to animals. He was arrested Christmas Day and is being held in Franklin County, Ohio. Michael Sanon, 21, aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, two counts murder, nine counts felonious assault, eight counts attempted murder and cruelty to animals. He is being held in Franklin County, Ohio, on multiple charges of burglary, safecracking, theft of vehicle and drug possession. Police say the shooting on Capstan Drive was drug-related and it was planned. Untangling misinformation and following the evidence to the point of arrest has taken 17 months. Colerain Township Police Chief Mark Denney said the investigation into the July 8, 2017, shooting was complicated. Some of the victims were not cooperative and police spent time following information from victims that was not true. People gathered for a gender reveal party for Cheyanne Willis, who was 21 on the day of the shooting. Willis told the media that she lost her fetus after being shot in the thigh. But a week later, police announced Willis had admitted she was not pregnant. "There were a lot of things we initially believed that turned out not to be true. It hindered the investigation, no doubt about that," Denney said. What was true was speculation that drugs were involved, he said. In fact, police eventually determined they were dealing with witnesses who had connections to more than one drug ring. "From the very beginning of this investigation, we met significant resis-
The parents of Otto Warmbier, Fred and Cindy Warmbier, are acknowledged during the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 30. MARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES
Autum Garrett
This home on Capstan Drive was where nine people were shot, one fatally, 22-year-old Autum Garrett of Andrews, Indiana. Investigators have found multiple connections between individuals attending the party and three different drug rings. ENQUIRER FILE PHOTO
tance that is uncommon from victims of crime wanting a resolution," Denney said. Killed in the shooting was 22-year-old Autum Garrett of Andrews, Indiana. Garrett's husband, Bryan, and two children were also shot. Bryan Garrett was struck in the eye. Officials didn't give details on the children's injuries. Police did say there were no indications the Garrett family was connected to the drug activity that sparked the shootings. It was a case of wrong place, wrong time. An 8-year-old Fairfield boy was also wounded, according to police reports. Also shot and wounded were Morgan Bradley, 24, Willis, 21, Elijah Clemons, 26, who was Willis's boyfriend and lived at the house, and her mother, Lori White, 51. The family's dog was also shot and wounded. Police were told the party started at 4 p.m. and about 30 people attended. By 10 p.m., most of them were gone and a movie flickered in the dark living room of the home at 9917 Capstan Drive as the remaining kids and adults – about a dozen in all – watched a Spider-Man movie.
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Sarah Brookbank Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
A judge Monday ruled Otto Warmbier was tortured in North Korea - and awarded his Cincinnati family $500 million in punitive and compensatory damages. Citing the isolated nation's "barbaric mistreatment of Otto," the federal judge said parents Fred and Cindy Warmbier of Wyoming, Ohio, provided evidence North Korea had taken him hostage and tortured their son. She said the country "deliberately caused Otto's brain damage, which resulted in his death." The opinion from U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell opened with an anguished quote from Cindy Warmbier after Otto's return to the United States in June 2017: “What the heck did you do to my kid?” In a statement Monday, the Warm-
bier family said they are "thankful that the United States has a fair and open judicial system so that the world can see that the Kim (Jong Un) regime is legally and morally responsible for Otto’s death." "We put ourselves and our family through the ordeal of a lawsuit and public trial because we promised Otto that we will never rest until we have justice for him," the family said.
Court documents provide new details The court documents go into sometimes gruesome details of the injuries Otto sustained while imprisoned and the grief the family experienced upon his return. "An American family, the Warmbiers, See WARMBIER, Page 2A Otto Warmbier of Wyoming is presented to reporters Feb. 29, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. AP FILE
See SHOOTING, Page 2A Roshawn Bishop, James Echols and Michael Sanon, left to right
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U.S. district judge awards family of Otto Warmbier $500 million in damages
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