Chaos erupted in an Ohio courtroom when two hot-headed families clashed after a judge handed down a reduced sentence to a 20-year-old who copped to fatally shooting a teenage boy, dramatic video showed.
The wild melee broke out Tuesday morning in a Hamilton County courtroom between the victim’s and shooter’s family moments after Latrelle Rogers pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter for killing 17-year-old Edwin “Myzell” Arrington and was slapped with a 12 to 17 ½-year prison term, FOX 19 reported.
Footage showed Rogers being hauled out of the courtroom as a family member shouted, “Love you,” while Arrington’s grieving loved ones yelled back, “F–k you,” sparking a heated verbal spat.
The feuding families, along with staffers and attorneys, jumped to their feet as the brawl spilled into the hallway, where deputies and court officers scrambled to break up the fight.
“The disturbance was so loud it disturbed proceedings in my courtroom,” Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher McDowell told FOX.
“I saw multiple people being arrested and not complying with deputies’ orders.”
The Cincinnati courthouse was temporarily shut down due to the fracas, forcing the frustrated jurist to cancel his morning docket.
Three people and a minor were cited for disorderly conduct following the dispute and are due back in court on Monday, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office told the outlet Wednesday.
Arrington’s mother, Shamicka, said tensions boiled over after her family was dissatisfied with the sentence handed to her son’s killer.
“He shot my son five times in the back when my son was trying to run away from him because my son seen the gun,” the distraught mom said.
“Five times, my son was left for dead in the cold for four hours until I found him. [Rogers] knows he isn’t going to be gone for a long time. He’s still going to still be able to come home and be with his family, while me and my family have to mourn my son every holiday, every birthday.”
Before taking a plea deal, Rogers was reportedly facing life in prison for firing multiple deadly shots at Arrington in Cincinnati’s University Heights neighborhood on Jan. 1, 2024.
He was arrested more than four months later and indicted on murder and assault charges.
