CINCINNATI — To provide more context to the recent indictment stemming from a viral fight in downtown Cincinnati, we spoke with two legal experts: defense attorney Carl Lewis and Mark Piepmeier, former Hamilton County chief assistant prosecutor.
Each of the six suspects indicted on Aug. 8 faces two counts of aggravated rioting, three counts of assault and three counts of felonious assault.
Some community members, including Cincinnati Rep. Cecil Thomas, have asked why those charges include aggravated rioting. We asked Piepmeier and Lewis to explain why the six may face that particular charge.
WATCH: Cincinnati attorneys answer your questions on the recent downtown fight indictment
"It's very rare. We usually wouldn't do it because it's kind of a vague charge," Piepmeier said. "If all of a sudden, a fight breaks out and there's four more people involved in a disorderly conduct charge, that's one of the elements."
Piepmeier told us that if, while committing disorderly conduct with four or more people, you commit another crime, that is considered aggravated rioting.
"In this case, it's pretty clear-cut that that's what they were engaged in," he said. "It was a big melee among a bunch of people, and I think it was appropriate."
Lewis, though, told us he doesn't believe the six will be convicted of aggravated rioting.
"I don't see the rioting. I'd be very surprised if they get convictions on that," Lewis said.
According to a WCPO 9 News analysis using the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts website, at least 11 individuals have been charged with aggravated rioting since 2019, excluding those charged in connection with the recent downtown brawl. Of the 11 individuals, nine had aggravated rioting charges dismissed or ignored by a grand jury.
"I have never in my 34 years had to defend anyone on an aggravated rioting charge," Lewis said.
"It's kind of a complicated crime to prove, and it's not that serious of a crime," Piepmeier said. "Felonious assault is a lot more serious."
If they're convicted on all the charges they face now, each suspect could face up to around 29 years in prison.
"There's a lot of victims. I didn't realize that until I looked at the indictment," Piepmeier said. "So if you're convicted of three felonious assaults on three different individuals, you're looking at 24 years maximum just on those."
Piepmer said, if convicted, many variables will play a role in the length of a sentence.
"They'll look at the prior record — if the person has any — and they'll look if there's any remorse. If the person says, 'Hey, look, I lost my head. It was one night. I was drinking. I got all fired up,' that's one thing," he said. "If the guy says, 'Hey, these people had the nerve to challenge me. They got what they were looking for,' it's a different story."
The charges all six individuals face were universally applied under Ohio's complicity laws. Per state statute, anyone involved in a crime can be charged as if they were a principal offender if they were all engaged in the crime together.
"One of the analogies that they often use (is), if I drive the car to the bank robbery and never go inside the bank, I'm still complicit in that crime," Lewis said.
"A judge will tell a jury, mere presence is not enough. So if you're just there, you're really not participating. You're not egging anybody on. It's not complicity," Piepmeier said. "But if you in any way take part in it with the other people, you can be charged just as seriously as the people delivering the most of the kicks and the stomps."
