In 2021, 16 juveniles were charged with murder in Hamilton County – by far the most in the county’s history. They ranged in age from 13 to 17.
Most ended up being prosecuted as adults after their cases were transferred from juvenile court to common pleas court.
Three were convicted in juvenile court, either through a plea or trial, and one case is still pending in juvenile court. The Enquirer is not naming these teens because the cases were resolved in, or remain in, juvenile court.
Seven have pleaded guilty as adults to involuntary manslaughter and are serving prison sentences.
Five are awaiting trial in common pleas court. Here’s a breakdown of the cases and where they stand today.
Cases that led to adult convictions
Scene of the 2021 drive-by shooting outside an Avondale Family Dollar.
Raeshawn Covington Jr.
-
Age when charged: 15.
-
Age now: 17.
One of four teens charged in the killing of 16-year-old Galevon Beauchamp in a drive-by shooting in front of an Avondale Family Dollar.
It happened the afternoon of June 21, 2021. Police believe at least three guns were used. The accused shooters were members of a gang that was feuding with a rival Avondale gang, according to court testimony.
Covington pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and being a felon in possession of a gun. He is serving an 18-year prison sentence.
Denerick Williams
-
Age when charged: 16.
-
Age now: 18.
Pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and being a felon in possession of a gun in the killing of Beauchamp. He is serving an 18-year prison sentence.
Amarion Baker
-
Age when charged: 17.
-
Age now: 20.
One of two people charged in the November 2020 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Mheid Abeid in Over-the-Rhine. Baker wasn’t charged until seven months later, in June 2021.
He pleaded guilty in 2022 to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Demarion Beauchamp
-
Age when charged: 16.
-
Age now: 18.
Beauchamp was involved in a May 2021 gun battle in Over-the-Rhine between two groups that killed a bystander, 61-year-old Douglas Robinson. He was one of two teens charged.
Douglas Robinson.
Beauchamp pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and is serving a nine-year prison sentence.
Dimareon McCray
-
Age when charged: 17.
-
Age now: 19.
Pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the gun battle that killed Robinson. According to testimony, he hid behind a building and waited for “an ambush.” He was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Kent Kelly Guerrant
-
Age when charged: 17.
-
Age now: 20.
According to prosecutors, Guerrant lured 31-year-old Aaron Chambers to a Mount Healthy parking lot in July 2021, saying he wanted to buy marijuana from him. Guerrant ended up shooting Chambers multiple times, including as Chambers tried to run away. The incident was captured on video.
Still image from video of the July 5, 2021 fatal shooting of Aaron Chambers in a Mount Healthy apartment complex parking lot.
Guerrant pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, aggravated robbery and felonious assault. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Jaden “JJ” Moermond
-
Age when charged: 16.
-
Age now: 18.
Pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the June 2021 fatal shooting of Robbie Smythe Jr. at a BP station in Spring Grove Village. He is serving a nine-year prison sentence.
Awaiting trial in adult court
Derrell Bates, seated, waits for a hearing to begin on Feb. 15, 2023 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court before Judge Robert Goering.
Derrell Bates
-
Age when charged: 14.
-
Age now: 17.
Bates, one of the four teens charged in the June 2021 killing of Galevon Beauchamp outside the Avondale Family Dollar, is awaiting trial in adult court.
He faces charges including murder. In February 2023, Bates sought to have the case sent back to juvenile court but a judge denied the request.
Police said Bates had three guns, and he gave two guns to two other teens also charged in the incident.
Tayvon Coffee
-
Age when charged: 17.
-
Age now: 19.
Police said Coffee was the driver of the stolen car used in the killing of Beauchamp. He is awaiting trial in adult court on charges including murder.
Mikeem Thomas
-
Age when charged: 14.
-
Age now: 17.
Awaiting trial on a total of 27 counts, Thomas faces charges including murder in four separate fatal shootings. Among the other charges he faces: attempted murder, felonious assault and aggravated robbery.
Prosecutors say three of the fatal shootings happened in 2021 within a three-week span. Officials called it a “reign of terror.” The fourth fatal shooting happened in October 2020.
Enijah Wilson
-
Age when charged: 16.
-
Age now: 19.
Authorities say Enijah Wilson and her boyfriend, in July 2021, lured 20-year-old Darnay Allmond to a secluded area in Forest Park intending to rob him.
During the robbery, according to court documents, there was a struggle and Allmond was fatally shot.
She is awaiting trial on charges including aggravated murder.
Her then-boyfriend, Deaundre Manning, was charged as an adult as an 18-year-old. Manning pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and is serving 25 to 30 years in prison.
Savanah Wilson
-
Age when charged: 16.
-
Age now: 19.
According to court documents, Savanah Wilson lured 23-year-old Luke Macke to a location by offering sex. On June 24, 2021, Macke was fatally shot.
She is awaiting trial on charges including aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. Her co-defendant, Christian Henderson, now 21, was charged as an adult. He also is awaiting trial.
Convicted in juvenile court
A girl who was 13 when she fatally stabbed her friend during a fight in Winton Hills stood trial in juvenile court in 2022.
After the non-jury trial, Judge Kari Bloom found her guilty of a murder charge in the killing of 13-year-old Nyaira Givens.
Bloom ordered the girl to complete rehabilitative programming at a locked facility.
A boy who was 15 when he was charged along with Mikeem Thomas in a February 2021 fatal shooting in South Fairmount pleaded guilty in juvenile court to involuntary manslaughter.
He served time in a state juvenile facility and was released in October 2023 on parole, according to court documents.
A 17-year-old boy charged in the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Desire Coston on Christmas Day 2021 pleaded guilty. As part of the plea agreement, murder charges were dismissed.
Pending in juvenile court
A teen accused of driving the car used in the September 2021 fatal shooting of Avante Beatty is still facing murder charges in juvenile court, court documents say. He was 16 at the time.
Beatty was walking on Lexington Avenue near Reading Road when he was shot by someone in a passing car.
Avante Beatty
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Here’s what happened to the 16 juveniles charged with murder in 2021