CINCINNATI — A man has pleaded guilty and will serve time in prison over his part in a mass shooting at a gender reveal party in Colerain Township that left one person dead and several others injured.
Court documents show Vandell Slade, who was arrested in 2019 for the shooting, pleaded guilty to one count of complicity to commit involuntary manslaughter.
He was sentenced to 12 total years in prison, but was credited time served of 1,303 days. In all, he's sentenced to just over eight years in prison. He initially faced two charges of murder, two charges of felonious assault and one charge of attempted murder.
Slade was the final suspect arrested in connection with a mass shooting that had many twists and turns throughout the investigation.
On July 8, 2017, Slade, 28-year-old Roshawn Bishop, 23-year-old James Echols and 20-year-old Michael Sanon broke into a home on Capstan Drive, which was hosting a gender reveal party at the time, according to police. The men allegedly opened fire once inside, killing 22-year-old Autumn Garrett and injuring eight others, including three children.
Initially, Cheyanne Willis, the woman the gender reveal party was being held for, said she lost her baby due to the shooting. However, police later found out that Willis was never pregnant to begin with.
This was just one example of a lie being presented in this investigation, and this hampered the police's progress.
"From the very beginning of this investigation, we have met significant resistance that is uncommon from victims of crime wanting a resolution," Colerain Township Police Chief Mark Denney said.
Echols and Sanon went to trial, where they were both found guilty — Echols of 22 charges, including aggravated murder and murder, and Sanon of one charge of attempted murder. After their conviction, a judge sentenced Echols to 41 years to life in prison and Sanon to 11 years in prison.
Bishop, the last suspect accused of being involved in the 2017 shooting, is scheduled to appear in court on July 12.
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