Ohio judge survives ambush shooting outside courthouse
Shooting suspect fatally shot by police; Mike Tobin reports from Chicago
The judge who was ambushed outside an Ohio courthouse Monday was presiding over a wrongful-death case involving his attacker, one of several new details emerging Tuesday that shed light on what led up to the incident.
The suspect, 51-year-old Nathaniel Richmond, was fatally shot Monday after wounding Jefferson County Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr., who's expected to survive. A second suspect, not yet identified for his own protection, was taken into custody for questioning, WTOV reported.
Bruzzese was overseeing a wrongful-death case that Richmond filed against a housing authority involving a 2015 fire that killed Richmond's mother and his 2-year-old nephew, the Herald-Star reported.
This 2016 booking photo released Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, by the Jefferson County Prosecutor's Office shows Nathaniel Richmond, who authorities said shot and wounded a judge outside a county courthouse Monday in Steubenville, Ohio, before being gunned down by a probation officer. (Jefferson County Prosecutor's Office via AP)
The lawsuit claims Jefferson Metropolitan Housing Authority and its employees knew from inspections of the house that it had several defects, including exposed electrical wiring and inoperable smoke detectors, before the deadly blaze.
“Defendants were informed by the inspection company that these conditions were ‘life threatening.’ In fact, the house had long-standing electrical problems of which the defendants knew. Defendants chose not to fix or otherwise remedy these physical defects. In fact, defendants knew from the inspection company reports that there were over 100 ‘life threatening’ conditions at JMHA’s public housing unit,” the lawsuit stated, according to the Herald-Star.
This undated still image from video provided by WTOV-TV in Steubenville, Ohio, shows Jefferson County, Ohio Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. (WTOV-TV via AP)
Attorneys for the housing authority had filed a motion on Friday to dismiss the punitive damages in the case, and another claim that the housing authority had destroyed the house in order to disrupt the plaintiff’s case, the newspaper reported.
A hearing on a motion to dismiss punitive damages claims was set for Aug. 28. before Bruzzese.
Additional court records obtained by the Associated Press show Richmond was arrested in April 2016 on charges of driving-under-the-influence and driving with expired plates, with the DUI charge ultimately downgraded to reckless operation. Several years ago he was arrested on various domestic violence and assault charges, court records show.
Nathaniel Richmond, father of Ma'Lik Richmond, apologizes to the victim and her family after his son and co-defendant were found delinquent on rape and other charges. (AP)
Richmond was the father of a Steubenville High School football player convicted of rape in 2013. A visiting judge handled his son's case, not Bruzzse. Ma'Lik Richmond is currently on the Youngstown State football team but isn't allowed to participate in any games following backlash surrounding his spot on the team.
Hours before he shot the judge, Richmond was stopped by a police officer for having a defective headlight as he drove downtown in the early morning darkness, The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register reported.
City of Steubenville manager Jim Mavronatis talks to the media with the Jefferson County Courthouse in the background. (AP)
Richmond arrived at a neighboring bank a short while before the shooting, left, then returned and walked quickly toward the judge from a parked car and fired, and the judge returned fire, said Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla.
Police have not yet identified a motive in the shooting, which was captured on surveillance video. Officials, however, said they will not be releasing video of the shooting until their investigation is complete, WTOV reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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