A downtown murder suspect and eight other convicted felons are now facing federal gun charges, according to court records.
Robert Shaw, 50, is accused of opening fire outside a Sycamore Street tavern and shooting 34-year-old Justin Johnson more than 20 times in a car last month.
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It occurred just days after an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old were shot a few blocks away in the Fountain area in the center of Downtown, the second incident in the area in a week.
Shaw was on bond and wearing an ankle monitor for a Hamilton County weapons charge over the summer, according to court documents.
Shaw and the others were apprehended as part of a multi-agency assault on gun violence in Cincinnati, according to the region’s senior federal prosecutor, US Attorney Dominick Gerace III.
“My office is paying close attention to the gun violence occurring on the streets of Cincinnati,” he said Monday.
“Together with the ATF, the Cincinnati Police Department, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, and the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office, we have charged several violent offenders who have a history of committing gun and other dangerous crimes.
“But our work is far from over,” U.S. Attorney Gerace continued, warning: “If you endanger our communities by illegally possessing or using a gun or ammunition, prepare to face federal consequences.”
Aside from Shaw, the following eight convicted felons are now facing federal weapons charges because they have a history of violent crime, making it illegal for them to possess guns or ammunition:
- Keenan Brock, 38
- Gary Curtis, 51
- Daishawn Harrell, 25
- Stephen Johnson, 43
- Kameron Scott, 31
- Christopher Watkins, 42
- Antonio Williams, 29
- Carlos Williams, 42
The indictments were returned on November 5 and unsealed on Monday.
All nine suspects are in custody.
“We stand ready to leverage our resources in support of our law enforcement partners to ensure violent, armed offenders are removed from our communities and placed where they can no longer threaten or victimize law-abiding citizens,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Jorge Rosendo.
Scott of Kennedy Heights, one of the defendants currently facing a federal firearms charge, has been charged with murder along with Corey Ringer, 34, of Pleasant Ridge, in Ryan Casey’s “targeted attack.”
Casey, 27, was pronounced dead inside a Kennedy Heights condominium on September 3, 2021, leaving behind a four-year-old kid.
The state’s case against Scott and Ringer remains pending in Hamilton County’s judicial system.
County prosecutors said both are also accused of another shooting that occurred just hours before they allegedly killed Casey.
According to court records, Scott and Ringer were convicted of serious narcotics trafficking in 2016 (Scott) and 2019 (Ringer) and are thus permanently prohibited from possessing firearms.
However, Ringer was armed with an AR-15, and Scott had a .40-caliber gun when Ringer called out to people inside a home on Chandler Street in Madisonville, and then both opened fire through the front door at 1:35 a.m. on Sept. 3, 2021, “in an attempt to cause the occupants inside physical harm,” Cincinnati police allege in court records.
According to criminal accusations, there were four persons in the house at the time, and everything was captured on surveillance tape.
According to arrest documents, Watkins was driving drunk and carrying a revolver on October 6.
The same day, deputies from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office pursued Johnson, who was allegedly driving a stolen motorcycle when he lost control and crashed.
Police discovered a gun beside Johnson at the scene.
Carlos Williams is accused of flashing a revolver and aiming it at a woman inside a Main Street market on October 7.
Harell was stopped for a driving violation on the same day that he had active local arrest warrants.
He was carrying a loaded gun, according to court papers.
On October 8, Cincinnati police officers responded to an apartment where Curtis allegedly beat his mother.
They discovered him carrying a handgun in his trousers pocket.
On October 20, local law enforcement officers evaded Antonio Williams, zapped him with a Taser stun gun, and detained him.
Court papers reveal that he had a stolen gun with an extended magazine and a machine gun conversion device in his possession.
According to criminal complaints, police observed Brock selling drugs on Findlay Street in the West End while armed with a revolver.
He escaped, leaving the handgun, which included an extended magazine and a Glock switch, in a nearby alley.
Brock was eventually apprehended and arrested.
