Judge keeps $1.5M bond for woman in shooting of 6-month-old granddaughter

Judge sends case against Butler County woman to a grand jury.
Mia Harris, 43, appeared with attorney Joe Auciello for a preliminary hearing in Butler County Area II Court Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023 in Hamilton. Harris is charged with three counts of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, for allegedly shooting a 6-month-old girl in the head and assaulting two others on Dutchview Court at the Lakota Pointe Town Homes. Bond remains at $1.5 million. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Mia Harris, 43, appeared with attorney Joe Auciello for a preliminary hearing in Butler County Area II Court Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023 in Hamilton. Harris is charged with three counts of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, for allegedly shooting a 6-month-old girl in the head and assaulting two others on Dutchview Court at the Lakota Pointe Town Homes. Bond remains at $1.5 million. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

HAMILTON — A detective with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office testified that a Butler County woman smiled and handed her 6-month-old granddaughter to a relative after she shot the baby in the head.

Mia Desiree Harris, 43, is charged with three counts of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, for allegedly shooting the girl and assaulting two others shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday on Dutchview Court at the Lakota Pointe Town Homes in Liberty Twp.

The baby is listed in critical condition at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, officials said.

During her preliminary hearing Wednesday in Area II Court, Harris sat next to her attorney, Joe Auciello, wearing a bright green Butler County Jail jumpsuit and shackles.

Judge Kevin C. McDonough decided after hearing the testimony from Detective Dan Turner to send the case to a Butler County grand jury for consideration.

Auciello asked the judge to lower the $1.5 million bond or allow it to be 10%. He said Harris wasn’t a flight risk and she had the support of her family.

Prosecutor Jessica Rodkey said Harris “fired a deadly weapon at three people” and the bond was “appropriate.”

There was a heavy presence of Butler County Sheriff’s Deputies inside the courtroom as several relatives of Harris attended the hearing. Deputies also stood outside the courthouse.

Turner described a chaotic scene inside the apartment Saturday morning.

Court documents signed by Turner say Harris struck a person in the face with her fist and “broke down a locked bedroom door after firing a handgun through the bedroom door multiple times.”

Harris allegedly assaulted another person by trying to shoot them in the head at close range, “but missed,” then shot the child in the head while the baby was lying on a bed, according to the complaints.

Then there was a tussle in the bedroom and Harris dropped the 9-millimeter Ruger and it was discovered under the bed, Turner said.

Harris then left the apartment in a Buick Enclave, and was seen trying the wrong way on Interstate 75 near the Monroe rest area, before driving back to the apartment where she was arrested, he said.

Harris told detectives the girl wasn’t her granddaughter and after shooting the baby she was, “Sorry, not sorry,” Turner testified.

About the Authors