CINCINNATI — Cincinnati police announced Wednesday morning they have arrested another person and charged them for involvement in a large fight downtown that was captured on videos which went viral online.
Police said that just before 9 a.m. Wednesday, the fugitive apprehension unit found and arrested 25-year-old Aisha Devaughn. She, like others arrested for the fight, faces charges of felonious assault and aggravated rioting.
In court Thursday morning, prosecutors said Devaughn is accused of committing "acts of violence" against both a woman who was knocked unconscious during the fight and a man who was on the ground when she allegedly assaulted him.
Prosecutors said she repeatedly "kicked, stomped" the man while he was on the ground.
The judge ordered Devaughn be held on a $300,000 bond.
Police said the investigation into the fight is still active and ongoing.
Devaughn is the sixth person arrested in connection with the fight.
RELATED | New video shows moments before, after violent fight in downtown Cincinnati
First, police arrested 34-year-old Montianez Merriweather and 24-year-old Dekyra Vernon. In court, the prosecution alleged Merriweather and another defendant, Jermaine Matthews caused the fight that day.
CPD Detective Barnabas Blank was brought in to speak about what investigators have learned so far. Blank said Merriweather and Matthews coordinated an attack on others involved in the fight.
He said surveillance footage viewed by police showed Merriweather walking up to one of the co-defendants and whispering something to him, before walking away. From there, Blank said it appeared Merriweather and the co-defendant argued and the fight broke out; Blank alleged Merriweather struck one person in the side of the face from behind during the fight.
Blank said Merriweather's actions are what sparked the fight, which then drew in more people after it began.
"This was like the catalyst that set almost everything else into motion from that point on," said Blank.
Vernon is the defendant least connected to the origins of the fight, but she interjected herself into the brawl for no reason that law enforcement could discern, Blank said.
Video viewed by police showed that Vernon was watching the fight from the side before she jumps in and punches a woman who was trying to protect another person on the ground, according to Blank. That woman was then punched in the face by another person, who knocked her unconscious, Blank said.
After that, 39-year-old Jermaine Matthews turned himself in to police, officials said in court.
Matthews' attorney, Brandon Fox, disputed this version of events. He said Matthews was standing on a corner nearby when a man he didn't know came up and asked for marijuana. Matthews gave him some just before a fight broke out down the sidewalk that Matthews then attempted to break up, Fox said.
Prosecutors argued Matthews was seen on video kicking people and repeatedly jumping back into the fight, visibly enraged. However, Blank conceded that Matthews was hit in the face before then.
"The victim comes up and mugs him in the face," said Blank.
"The victim mugs the defendant?" asked the judge.
"Yes, he absolutely does, 100% and we are looking into that," said Blank. "But we found another video that predates that one, where there is some kind of fight that happens even before that, where he is squared up with a gentleman prior to."
All three are facing multiple charges, including aggravated rioting and assault, or felonious assault.
Dominique Kittle, the fourth suspect arrested in the July 26 fight near the intersection of Fourth and Elm streets, was arrested roughly one week after videos of the fight went viral on social media.
Kittle faces two counts of assault and one count of felonious assault. He's accused of assaulting three separate people during the fight. Prosecutors alleged he knocked out a male victim during the fight and, at one point, attempted to take someone's wallet.
His defense attorney claims Kittle has paranoid schizophrenia and may not be competent to stand trial. Kittle could be seen running from people in videos, attempting to get away from the fight, according to his defense attorney.
"He was very impressionable that night," said Kittle's attorney. "He was scared ... The situation started because he asked for his space, when he was made contact with. And then he was told 'f*** your space, you don't get personal space' and then was called the n-word."
On August 4, police announced they'd arrested Patrick Rosemond, 38, in Fulton County, Georgia, CPD said. Once he was located, the FBI's Atlanta Metropolitan Major Offenders Task Force took him into custody. Rosemond has been charged with two counts of felonious assault and aggravated rioting and will be extradited to Cincinnati.
Hear from one of the alleged victims of the fight below:
Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge said police have so far identified six victims — five men and one woman.
Last week, Mayor Aftab Pureval said preventing violent crime in Cincinnati has been the "singular top priority" for city leaders both before and after what police referred to as a "violent attack."
Videos showing multiple angles of the attack were shared online, garnering national attention over the weekend of July 26. However, Theetge has said the videos online do not provide the full story.
See the latest video released below:
Theetge said 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.
The police chief said officers are also looking into whether some of the people involved were over-served at local bars or restaurants, saying it is clear alcohol played a part in the fight.
The CPD chief did chastise both social media users and more traditional media outlets' roles in the spread of narratives around the fight "without factual context."
"Social media, in the posts that we've seen, does not depict the entire incident," she said. "That is one version of what occurred."
