A man previously identified as one of the gunmen in a 2023 drive-by shooting that killed a 9-year-old girl in Silverton is now believed to have just been the driver, which means the second gunman remains at large.
That revelation came during a July 14 plea hearing for Ryan Meliek Brown, who authorities previously said was one of two people who sprayed gunfire into a house on Plainfield Road the night of July 10, 2023.
Brown, the third person convicted in connection with the shooting, pleaded guilty in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to manslaughter and felonious assault charges. Prosecutors said in court for the first time that Brown, 30, was driving the vehicle that night.
He was sentenced to 13 to 18 years in prison, a term that had been agreed upon as part of the plea.
The shooting happened at approximately 11:30 p.m. as 9-year-old Da’Myiah Barton-Pickens was inside her grandmother’s house with a friend, dancing and making TikTok videos.
Da’Myiah was struck in the chest. Her friend was grazed in the back by a bullet. Her grandmother was not wounded.
One of the shooters was Qasseem Dixon, who is now 28. He pleaded guilty last year to multiple charges and is serving 30 to 35½ years in prison. At his plea hearing, Dixon apologized, saying that the shooting was retaliation for an earlier incident and that he never intended to harm any children.
Officials have said the intended target was a man related to Da’Myiah.
Investigators say two guns – an assault-style rifle and a handgun – were fired at the home, which was left riddled with bullet holes. Approximately 28 shots were fired.
Dixon and Brown were initially named as the gunmen in court documents. But now prosecutors say Brown was not one of the gunmen and instead just the driver of the vehicle.
A spokeswoman for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the shooting, was not able to answer questions July 15 about the investigation into the second shooter, who is at large.
3 men charged
A third defendant, Demario Williams, 25, was convicted of helping hide evidence, as well as charges related to a crash after police tried to pull over his car.
A day after the shooting, Williams was seen by undercover officers placing a rifle bag into the trunk of a car. Dixon also was seen placing a large bag into the car.
According to court documents, Williams drove away with Dixon as his passenger in the Chevrolet Cruze. When police tried to pull over the car, he drove through a red light and collided with another vehicle, seriously injuring its driver.
The rifle found in the car’s trunk matched the one used in the shooting.
Williams was sentenced in 2024 to 3½ years in prison. His attorney said he was not involved in the shooting.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Plea hearing reveals 2nd gunman in 2023 drive-by is still at large
Reporting by Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kevin Grasha, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
