ANDERSON TWP., Ohio — Shalonda Mixon, the sister of former Bengals running back Joe Mixon, has taken a plea agreement in connection with a shooting at her brother's house in 2023 that wounded a 16-year-old.
Shalonda and her boyfriend, Lamonte Brewer, both faced charges after the shooting in Anderson Township; Shalonda initially was indicted on one count of tampering with evidence and one count of obstructing justice.
In court on Tuesday, Shalonda pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing justice instead, in exchange for a sentence of three years on probation. The judge ruled she can serve out that time in California, where she now lives.
Brewer is accused of having pulled the trigger that night, while Shalonda was accused of having attempted to conceal evidence.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers said surveillance footage from Joe Mixon's home showed Brewer and Joe in the backyard of the home, as Brewer fired multiple shots. Later, surveillance footage showed Shalonda collecting shell casings from the yard before the two left the house as police arrived.
Joe Mixon himself was never charged in the shooting; he was present at the house when it happened, though.
Brewer's case is more complicated; in addition to facing charges in Hamilton County, federal investigators have added an additional charge of possession by a prohibited person, because Brewer was already a felon the night he picked up a firearm at Joe Mixon's house.
Brewer's attorneys argued that his status as a felon does not apply in this case, citing a previous court case from 2013 that determines if a felon can meet five requirements.
That case ruled that, in order for a felon barred from having a firearm to justifiably use on, that defendant must have:
- Reasonably feared death or serious injury from an imminent threat
- Not recklessly placed himself in the path ofthat threat
- Had no reasonable alternative to possession
- Reasonably believed that possession would avert the threat and
- Maintained possession only as long as necessary to avoid the threat.
His attorneys said they believe Brewer can meet those five requirements.
Brewer and his girlfriend — Mixon's sister — have both alleged they, along with Mixon himself, believed they were in danger that night.
Hamilton County prosecutors have said Mixon claimed he'd been receiving death threats in the time leading up to the shooting, specifically after his personal address was released publicly.
That night, when teenagers in the neighborhood broke into a game of Nerf Wars, Brewer's attorneys allege their client and everyone else inside Mixon's home at the time believed they were being attacked.
"Cars were screeching up and down the street, some blocking ingress and egress into the neighborhood," reads a court document filed by Brewer's attorneys. "At the same time, people were running around the neighborhood screaming."
Children inside the home were moved into a safe room, while one adult inside the home called 911, the document says.
Brewer's attorneys also pointed out that the Hamilton County judge ruling over the original case had allowed Brewer to be released on bond and return to his home in California; In contrast, the federal judge determined Brewer's criminal history made him a danger when they ruled Brewer be held without bond on the newest charge.
"The Assistant United States Attorney made an impassioned argument alluding to Brewer's past record and the danger he constitutes to the public," court documents say. "One has to wonder the following: if Brewer is so dangerous, why did it take 114 days to present the case for indictment? Counsel believes that Brewer is entitled to release and requests a hearing to further argue the math."
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