Two females who’ve been in jail over their alleged roles in last month’s Cincinnati mob attack got big breaks Thursday on their respective bonds.
Dekyra Vernon, 24, has been behind bars since July 29 — three days after the beatdown caught on video in which several men were pummeled in the street, and a woman known as Holly was punched in the face by a male and knocked flat on her back, seemingly out cold.
‘This is Holly. She wanted to have a nice evening out with friends. Instead, she got this.’
It appears Vernon allegedly is the individual seen on video punching Holly from behind prior to the male punching Holly in the face. WXIX-TV, citing criminal complaints, reported that Vernon “struck [the] victim in the face with a closed fist prior to the victim becoming unconscious from the attack.”
Cellphone video (1:34 mark) shows Holly, who’s wearing a blue dress, apparently trying to intervene on behalf of a beaten-up man, but instead another female punches her from behind — and seconds later, a male punches her in the face, knocking her flat on her back on the street.
Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio shared on X grisly images of Holly’s face after the beatdown.
“This is Holly,” Moreno wrote in his post, which has been viewed nearly 4 million times as of Thursday afternoon. “She wanted to have a nice evening out with friends. Instead, she got this.”
Aisha Devaughn, 25, has been in jail since last Wednesday. WXIX in a separate story indicated that sources said Devaughn is the “woman seen in the viral video wearing a white bodysuit, stomping and kicking a victim on the ground.”
WXIX embedded two screenshots from that video — which you can view here — in its story, and the clip allegedly shows Devaughn in action.
Around the 9-second mark, a woman dressed in a short, white bodysuit comes into frame and delivers at least three stomps upon a male victim lying in the street. But around the 17-second mark, someone pulls the woman away — and what appears to be a wig is ripped from the top of her head.
At the 1:27 mark, the woman in the white bodysuit reappears — with the wig back on — and she’s seen apparently making physical contact with Holly just after another female punches Holly from behind — and just before a male punches Holly in the face, knocking her flat on her back.
Vernon and Devaughn — along with four male suspects — were indicted on eight charges each last week in connection with the mob attack: three counts of felonious assault, three counts of assault, and two counts of aggravated riot. They all face nearly 30 years in jail if convicted on all charges.
But on Thursday morning, the bonds for Vernon and Devaughn were significantly lowered after they went before Judge Alan Triggs, WCPO-TV reported.
Vernon had been held on a $200,000 secure bond, but the station said Triggs lowered it to $25,000 — and she only needs to cough up 10% of that, or $2,500. Fox News said cheers were heard in the gallery after Vernon’s bond was lowered. Hamilton County court records show Vernon has no prior criminal convictions in the county, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Devaughn had been held on a $300,000 secure bond, but WCPO said Triggs also lowered it to $25,000, of which — as in Vernon’s case — she only needs to pay 10%, or $2,500. Fox News added that Devaughn’s attorney cited her lack of prior felonies.
Blaze News on Thursday reached out to Prosecutor Kip Guinan for comment regarding the lowered bonds for Vernon and Devaughn; the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office replied to Blaze News that it’s not commenting on the case outside the courtroom as it “remains under investigation by the Cincinnati Police Department.”
Mob-attack suspect Patrick Rosemond — who was arrested Aug. 4 in Fulton County, Georgia, and is “accused of hitting the victim named Holly,” WLWT-TV reported — was not in court Thursday as prosecutors said the 38-year-old was being extradited from Georgia and wasn’t ready to appear on the day’s docket, WCPO said.
Patrick Rosemond. Image source: Fulton County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office
Mob-attack suspects Dominique Kittle, 37, Jermaine Matthews, 39, and Montianez Merriweather, 34, did appear in court Thursday morning, but WCPO said the judge didn’t lower their bonds.
(L to R) Dominique Kittle, Jermaine Matthews, Montianez Merriweather. Image source: Hamilton County (Ohio) Sheriff
WLWT-TV reported that the prosecutor’s office said Kittle “approached the victim … struck him from behind, [and] attempted to take a wallet from him. When he was unable to do that, he started to walk away, and then turned around and knocked the prosecuting witness out.” Kittle’s bond was set at $150,000, the station said.
Police said Matthews is seen on video “punching and stomping on [a] victim with his hands and feet attempting to cause serious physical harm,” WXIX-TV reported, citing a criminal complaint. Matthews also is accused of dragging an unconscious person into the middle of the street and punching and assaulting a victim, the station said. Matthews’ bond was set at $270,000, after which he bonded out of jail, WXIX said.
Matthews’ attorney said during Thursday’s hearing that his client was “slapped” by a white male, Fox News reported.
Matthews apparently is no stranger to law enforcement. Here’s what WXIX said about him in a separate story:
Matthews is a convicted felon who pleaded guilty in 2009 to two counts of cocaine possession and a single count of cocaine trafficking, court records show.
He was sentenced to three years in prison.
During each of his two separate arrests in those cases — in December 2008 and February 2009 — police said Matthews tried to swallow a bag of crack cocaine but spit it out after being shocked with a Taser stun gun.
Merriweather was “identified on video punching [the] victim while co-defendants are stomping the victim in the head,” WXIX reported, citing criminal complaints.
Merriweather also has been in trouble with the law before.
In fact, Merriweather was indicted July 10 on four felony charges after investigators said he was found in possession of a stolen firearm, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Court records indicate he was charged with carrying concealed weapons, receiving stolen property, improper handling of firearms in a vehicle, and weapons under disability, the paper noted. The weapons under disability charge stems from a 2009 felony conviction for aggravated robbery, the Enquirer added, citing documents.
But after his July 10 indictment, Merriweather was released upon posting 10% of a $4,000 bond, the paper said.
“He never should have been out,” Ken Kober, Cincinnati police union president, told the Enquirer.
Merriweather’s bond in connection with his mob attack charges was set at $500,000, the Enquirer reported.
What’s more, a federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Merriweather for illegally possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon.
A seventh mob-attack suspect — 32-year-old Gregory Wright — didn’t appear in court Thursday, WCPO reported, adding that Wright is accused of stealing a necklace off the neck of an alleged assault victim.
RELATED: 8 mainstream news outlets that REFUSED to cover Cincinnati mob attack
Gregory Wright. Image source: Hamilton County (Ohio) Sheriff
Unlike the other six suspects, Wright was charged with aggravated riot and aggravated robbery, WXIX-TV reported. Jail records indicate his bond is $100,000.
All seven of the suspects have pleaded not guilty, Fox News said.
Guinan said in court Thursday there are more videos from city cameras that show new angles of the mob attack that haven’t yet been made public, Fox News added. Guinan also said alleged racial slurs spoken toward perpetrators were said nearly two minutes after the attack began, the cable network added.
Cincinnati black leaders want charges brought against a white male who was seen on video slapping the face of a black male just before the July 26 beatdown began.
Fox News said police chief Teresa Theetge last week noted that the white male in question is “represented by counsel” and that his counsel said “they did not want the police talking to his client. So therefore, we have not had a conversation with him yet.”
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