Suspect from 2020 Middletown shooting in custody

Natrone Cecil Kakaris

Credit: Butler County Jail

Credit: Butler County Jail

Natrone Cecil Kakaris

A man wanted on charges related to a 2020 drive-by shooting that led Middletown police to ask for public help in finding him is in custody awaiting his case to be submitted to a grand jury.

Natrone Cecil Kakaris, 24, of Middletown, is a suspect in the incident that during the early hours of Aug. 16, 2020.

Middletown police said Kakaris was accused of firing shots at around 2:30 a.m. from a car at a residence in the 1200 block of Baltimore Street. A man was shot in the leg, though his injuries were non-life-threatening, police said.

A few days after the shooting, Middletown police asked for public help finding Kakaris, calling him “armed and dangerous” after warrants for his arrest were filed in Middletown Municipal Court.

Kakaris is charged with three counts of felonious assault, one count of improperly discharging a firearm into a habitation and one count of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, according to court records.

Middletown Sgt. Earl Nelson said officers received information that Kakaris, who “has been in the wind” since the shooting, was spending time in Cincinnati and Middletown. He was arrested Feb. 2 and booked into the Middletown City Jail.

Following a preliminary hearing Thursday in Middletown Municipal Court, the case was sent to a Butler County grand jury and Kakaris was transported to the Butler County Jail. He is being held in lieu of $205,000 bond, according to court records.

Staff Writer Daniel Susco contributed to this report.

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