Man Who Allegedly Shot Ohio Judge Was Father Of Football Player Convicted In Steubenville Rape Case
In a dark coincidence, authorities say a man who ambushed and shot a judge in Steubenville, Ohio, earlier this week was the father of a local high school football player previously convicted in a high-profile rape case.
This article originally appeared on People.
In a dark coincidence, authorities say a man who ambushed and shot a judge in Steubenville, Ohio, earlier this week was the father of a local high school football player previously convicted in a high-profile rape case.
According to officials, Nathaniel Richmond approached Judge Joseph J. Bruzzese Jr. outside the Jefferson County courthouse in Steubenville on Monday morning before opening fire on him.
The judge pulled out his own gun and fired several rounds in return. A probation officer on the scene also returned fire and Richmond was shot and killed at the scene.
The judge was rushed to the hospital where he was listed in stable condition. He is expected to survive.
Richmond is the father of Ma’Lik Richmond, one of two Steubenville High School football players convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl at a party in 2012. The younger Richmond was released after serving time in a juvenile detention center and returned to his high school football team. He now attends college at Youngstown State.
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According to records obtained by PEOPLE, Bruzzese did not handle Ma’lik Richmond’s case, and prosecutors have said they believe the shooting on Monday and the rape case in 2012 are unrelated.
Instead, Bruzzese was presiding over a pending wrongful-death civil case that Nathaniel Richmond had filed after his mother died in a house fire. A hearing was scheduled for next Monday.
The county prosecutor reportedly also said there were “number of cases” in Buzzese’s courtroom involving Nathaniel Richmond, whose legal troubles date back more than a decade.
In 2002, he pleaded guilty to assault and attempted murder for a drive-by shooting, PEOPLE confirms. He spent five years in prison.
Bruzzese did not immediately return PEOPLE’s calls for comment.
