A man identified by the Butler County Sheriff’s Office as Romel Velasquez, 18, was arrested and initially charged with murder and two counts of felonious assault within hours of the shooting. But the murder charge was dismissed last Friday against Velasquez by the sheriff’s office after further investigation indicated two people fired weapons at the incident.
A grand jury indicted Velasquez on Wednesday on one count of felonious assault. The indictment lists the spelling of his name as Valasquez. Moody and Zyshaun Johnson, 19, of Cincinnati, were also shot in the incident.
Kaleb Marshall Tooson, 18, of Liberty Twp. was indicted on charges of of murder, felonious assault and aggravated robbery for allegedly killing Riah Milton on June 9 in what investigators have said was an apparent robbery that went bad. Butler County Sheriff’s detectives said Tooson was also shot under the arm during the encounter.
Milton, a black transgender woman, received national attention since the incident, including during a New York City march last weekend spreading the message of Black Trans Lives Matter.
June 10 incident
Last week, Jones said Velasquez began firing into the crowd, striking Antaun Hill Jr and injuring two others. But further investigation revealed another gun was fired during the incident that happened about 10 p.m. Hill later died from the injuries.
Hill was a recent graduate of Fairfield High School, where he played football, and he planned to play at Independence Community College in Kansas.
Dwyer said Velasquez initially confessed to being the only shooter, and detectives recovered the gun he allegedly used. But detectives began hearing that a second person may have been firing a weapon, and the investigation continued.
“So we started at square one and began interviewing all the people who were out there and through that arduous task people came forward and said, ‘Yeah this guy was shooting and had a gun too,’” Dwyer said.
A second weapon was recovered as part of the investigation.
Dispatchers received six 911 calls about the incident, one warning a fight was about to happen. Frantic neighbors heard gunshots, a caller at the scene screamed and prayed and one caller reported a big fight was about to happen in the calls received by dispatchers.
June 9 incident
The shooting of Milton happened at about 5:23 a.m. when a group met at Liberty Park in what investigators say was a plan for a vehicle theft. Detectives say Milton was “lured” to the location to be robbed. A fight ensued, and Milton was shot and killed on a nearby street, officials said.
Milton, 25, of Cincinnati, was found dead in the 6000 block of Spruce Creek Drive. The suspects drove away in Milton’s purple Camaro that was later ditched in West Chester Twp.
A 14-year-old girl, who is a Lakota East student, was arrested on charges of complicity to aggravated robbery, complicity to murder and tampering with evidence. She is housed in the Butler County Detention Center and is scheduled to appear in juvenile court next week.
Deputies were continuing to look for Tyree Jeffery Cross, 25, of Cincinnati, who is sought on charges of complicity to murder, complicity to aggravated robbery and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
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