CINCINNATI — The man accused of injuring one teen in a shooting near Joe Mixon's home was given a $100,000 bond after turning himself in.
Lamonte Brewer has been charged with felonious assault, tampering with evidence and having a weapon under disability after a March 6 shooting in Anderson Township. He is also not allowed to leave Hamilton County.
Brewer is the boyfriend of Shalonda Mixon, Joe Mixon's sister.
Shalonda Mixon was indicted on one count of tampering with evidence and one count of obstructing justice.
If convicted, Brewer faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison; Shalonda Mixon faces a maximum sentence of four years.
Powers said Joe Mixon was present when the shots were fired, but he did nothing illegal in the course of the incident.
According to Powers, officers were dispatched to Ayers Road at around 8:25 p.m. on March 6, where they met with two juvenile witnesses who described playing a game of "dart wars" with Nerf guns when the shots were fired.
Powers said the 16-year-old shooting victim fled as 10 to 11 shots were fired, ducking behind a tree to hide.
Once police were called, officers spotted a vehicle leaving Mixon's home and were able to perform a traffic stop; Shalonda and Brewer were inside the vehicle. A gun police found in the trunk was later identified as the gun used in the shooting.
Powers said surveillance footage from Joe Mixon's home showed Brewer and Joe in the backyard of the home, as Brewer fired multiple shots. Later, surveillance footage showed Shalonda collecting shell casings from the yard before the two left the house as police arrived.
Joe could be seen carrying a gun in the video, but Powers said he is a legal gun owner and he did not fire any shots during the incident.
According to Powers, Joe claimed he'd been recently receiving death threats and was worried for his safety after his sister told him there were people outside with guns.
Defense attorneys Scott Crosswell and Merlyn Shiverdecker represented Mixon during the investigation and on Thursday, after the prosecutor's press conference, their office released a statement on his behalf.
"A few weeks prior to the incident, Joe's address was improperly released to the public," read the statement. "After his address was released, Joe became the victim of multiple threats of physical harm and harassment on social media at his residence in Cincinnati. These threats have been well documented."
Before the March 6 shooting, Joe was visiting family in California; he returned home to Cincinnati the day of the shooting, his attorneys said. Joe was home with his sister, her five children, her boyfriend and his physical therapist that night.
According to Joe's attorneys, on the night of the shooting Joe and his therapist saw multiple vehicles pull up outside his home before multiple people got out carrying "what appeared to be weapons as they ran into neighbors' yards." The statement said some of the teens were shouting orders as they ran.
Attorneys allege Joe and his therapist felt threatened and feared for their safety and the safety of Joe's young nieces and nephews, who were in the home.
"At this time, Joe called the Bengals director of security to have police dispatched immediately to the residence as he feared for the wellbeing of everyone in the residence," the statement reads. "The physical therapist called 911 from a separate room."
After that, Joe went outside to determine what was happening when a person carrying "what appeared to be a rifle racing directly towards his property as the individual continued to bark instructions." When Brewer began firing, Joe's attorneys said the Bengal tried to stop him.
"Joe hates that a young adult was injured during this incident," says the statement.
You can read the full statement below:
Statement from Joe Mixon's attorneys by WCPO 9 News on Scribd
Watch the full press conference below:
