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Three Men Linked To Deadly Shooting At Bogus Gender Reveal Party Held For Non-Pregnant Woman
Roshawn Bishop, James Echols and Michael Sanon have been indicted in a 2017 Ohio shooting that left 22-year-old Autum Garrett dead, as well as eight others wounded, including three kids.
More than a year after a deadly shooting at a phony gender reveal party in Ohio, authorities have linked and charged three men in connection with the attack.
The July 2017 shooting left one woman dead, 22-year-old Autum Garrett, and eight more wounded, including three children. A dog was also shot and injured in the attack.
On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted 28-year-old Roshawn Bishop, 23-year-old James Echols and 21-year-old Michael Sanon on 22 counts of various charges including murder, aggravated robbery and cruelty to animals. Police determined the shooting in July 2017 was a targeted, drug-related attack after connecting multiple witnesses to drug rings, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Authorities say it took almost a year and a half to make arrests in the case because detectives looked into several false leads. Colerain Township Police Chief Mark Denney said uncooperative witnesses provided misinformation that "hindered the investigation, no doubt."
"From the very beginning of this investigation, we met significant resistance that is uncommon from victims of crime wanting a resolution," Denney told the Enquirer.
Witnesses told police about 30 people attended the party, but only about a dozen stayed into the night to watch a movie. Two armed men entered the home through an unlocked door around 11 p.m. and sprayed at least 14 rounds into the living room before running away.
The party was ostensibly a gender reveal party for then 21-year-old Cheyanne Willis, who claimed to have suffered a miscarriage after being shot in the thigh. Investigators later found that she was never actually pregnant at all.
Garrett was Willis' cousin. Her husband and two children were injured in the shooting.
Court records don't show whether the three men in custody have attorneys.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
[Photo: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office]
