CINCINNATI — Two people facing charges for a violent downtown fight on July 26 now have a lower bond after going before Judge Alan Triggs Thursday morning.
Triggs significantly lowered the bonds for 24-year-old Dekyra Vernon and 25-year-old Aisha Devaughn.
Vernon was previously being held on a $200,000 secure bond — an amount her attorney, Clyde Bennett II, said was unconstitutional. Triggs lowered her bond to $25,000, of which she must pay 10%.
WATCH: The prosecution and defense have different characterizations of what happened on July 26
Devaughn was being held on a $300,000 secure bond for her alleged actions that day. Similar to Vernon, Triggs lowered Devaughn's bond to $25,000, of which she must pay 10%.
Dominique Kittle, 37, Jermaine Matthews, 39 and Montianez Merriweather, 34, all also appeared in court Thursday morning. However, Triggs did not lower their bonds.
Kittle's bond will remain the same for now, pending a mental health evaluation; His attorney has said he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.
Patrick Rosemond, 39, was not in court. Prosecutors said he was being extradited from Georgia today and was not ready to appear on Thursday's docket.
In total, seven people have been charged in connection with the downtown fight. The seventh person, 32-year-old Gregory Wright, is accused of stealing a necklace off the neck of an alleged assault victim during the fight; he did not appear in court with the others.
Aside from Wright, all six people charged for their alleged involvement in the fight are facing two counts of aggravated rioting, three counts of assault and three counts of felonious assault.
Judge Alan Triggs ensured transparency during the proceedings, hosting his own live stream and allowing court observers to do the same.
Prosecutors identified Jermaine Mathews as a key figure in the fight.
"Mr. Mathews was one of the main instigators of this event," said Kip Guinan, prosecuting attorney for Hamilton County.
Prosecutors allege Mathews had several vehicles at the corner and approached some of the victims.
"(He) told them they were at the wrong, quote, unquote, the wrong party, and that they were going to make sure that they got off that corner, and that's what they did," Guinan said.
Defense attorney Brandon Fox offered a different perspective on Mathews' involvement and disagreed with the characterization by the prosecution.
"He was concerned about his cars, because those individuals were attacking his car for no reason. That was the catalyst of everything that happened. It was a mutual combat. It was a brawl," Fox said.
Both sides referenced a slap by a white man who has not been charged. While Mathews' attorney claimed he was the one slapped, prosecutors presented new information about the timing of that incident.
"That so-called slap was 47 seconds already into the assault, already into GN being beaten for no reason by at least two individuals," Guinan said.
Judge Triggs maintained Mathews' bond at $270,000, which he had previously posted. He will be allowed to go to work.
Merriweather, however, now faces a federal gun possession charge. His bond remained unchanged at $500,000 despite defense arguments that his involvement was limited to fist fighting.
"There's no video I've received that contact was made by a kick," said defense attorney Alex Deardorff, adding that "racial slurs were thrown against him and his family."
Guinan responded to those claims: "That was a minute and 47 seconds into this brutal beatdown. Were the words said, Yes. Were they inappropriate? Absolutely. But these poor people were being assaulted, stomped WWE style, elbow drops onto pavement."
The defense for Dekyra Vernon argued that the cases were overcharged.
"Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the United States Capitol. That's a riot. When you get together, you assemble and you plan to commit a crime, that's not what happened down on Fourth Street, Judge," Bennett said.
Bennett claimed, "The catalyst for the bonds in this case is race and politics, not the law."
Guinan strongly disagreed with this characterization.
"This case has nothing to do with race. This case has absolutely nothing to do with politics. I'm the most apolitical guy you'll find. This case is about what these people did, what these victims suffered," Guinan said.
Both defense attorneys and the prosecutor mentioned they have video footage of the brawl that hasn't been publicly released, including two angles from stationary cameras in the area.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich said the charges applied by the grand jury were universally applied to all defendants because of Ohio's complicity laws. Under Ohio law, anyone involved in a crime can be charged the same "as if he were a principal offender" if they were all engaged in the crime together.
That means each defendant is now facing the same charges as the offender accused of the most violence, regardless of their actions during the fight. It is unclear if Wright will also be indicted on those charges.
In a community meeting Monday morning, Ohio state Rep. Cecil Thomas questioned why Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge and other officials have not announced any charges for a man involved in the fight who appeared to slap another man toward the beginning of the altercation.
He said the lack of charges for a person who appeared to have incited the fight "raises serious questions on whether there is bias involved in the investigation."
"The Black community of this city demands to be respected, and until justice is fully served, this city can not and will not move forward," said Thomas.
Chief Teresa Theetge spoke last week about her department's attempts to speak with the man accused of slapping one of the suspects.
"Just yesterday, asking the investigators to go to the Justice Center, speak with him. He is represented by counsel. The investigators are aware of that. They spoke to his counsel before they went down to see him, and the counsel said no, they did not want the police talking to his client. So therefore, we have not had a conversation with him yet," Theetge said.
Theetge said in a press conference after the fight that anyone who "placed their hands on somebody in an attempt to cause harm" will face consequences.
"I don't care which side of the incident, the fight, they were on ... that's unacceptable," Theetge said.
