Authorities in Cincinnati said a 15-year-old boy allegedly gunned down a man after the victim repeatedly punched the juvenile’s mother. Per WXIX, the fatal February 20 incident occurred in the 1600 block of Pasadena Avenue in College Hill.
The deceased man, identified as 30-year-old Levonte Hyde, later succumbed to his injuries in a hospital after being shot several times. The unidentified teen has since been arrested and charged with murder.
“There was obviously something going on in the young man’s head that a court could take into consideration in sentencing and probably would,” FOX19 NOW Legal Analyst Mike Allen said.
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Police spokesman Lt. Jonathan Cunningham and a spokesman for the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office said the teen’s mother alleged that Hyde had beaten him before the fatal incident.
Authorities also said that Hyde and the woman are the “co-natural parents of two children.” But her teen son who fatally shot Hyde has a different father. Records from the Hamilton County Municipal Court state that a warrant to arrest Hyde on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge was issued on February 20.
Police had also petitioned a judge to temporarily bar Hyde from establishing contact with the woman, who court records identified as a “victim,” WXIX reported. The woman is said to have suffered visible facial injuries.
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The woman and Hyde were said to be headed to a store on February 20 when the deceased man “began to hit (the) victim in the face several times with a closed fist while driving.” The recent incident wasn’t the first time Hyde had been accused of assaulting a woman.
The teen suspect’s next hearing is scheduled for March 3, but a magistrate ordered him to remain in a detention center or shelter. In certain cases, parents are granted custody of their children by the juvenile court. But the court determined the teen should remain in custody because of the serious allegations brought against him and the safety of the youth and community.
The court will also hold a hearing to rule if the teen should be tried as an adult. “There’s obviously a relationship between the two,” Allen said. “Obviously, not a good one and he alleges that this individual beat his mother. And again, that’s something a judge can take into consideration in sentencing.”
