The man charged with shooting inside a popular Over-the-Rhine bar was confronting one of its former managers over a $75 debt, officials said.
Taviance Maxberry, 29, is charged with opening fire inside Somerset Bar shortly after 5 p.m. on May 24, wounding Grafton Wiley, according to court records.
The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office says Maxberry brought a gun into Somerset to confront Wiley over owing Maxberry $75. Wiley remains hospitalized.
Maxberry fled the scene but was caught by Cincinnati police officers a few blocks away, according to an arrest document. Officers found a Smith & Wesson pistol hidden in the bushes nearby.
Police recovered a bag outside of the bar after the shooting, which had Maxberry’s ID, .380 ammunition, 50 grams of marijuana and crack cocaine packaged for sale, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Wiley was manager at Somerset, owner previously said
Before Somerset opened in 2021, one of the bar’s owners, James Fisher, told CityBeat magazine it was bringing Wiley onto the management group. An online networking profile lists Wiley as having been assistant general manager for Somerset and security operations manager for Alice Bar.
Lost Hospitality owns Somerset and Alice Bar in Over-the-Rhine and Second Story Bar in Covington.
Wiley’s profile says he left Alice Bar in 2024.
Fisher did not respond to messages from The Enquirer seeking more information.
Following the shooting, Fisher told Enquirer media partner Fox 19 that Maxberry waited outside the bar for at least an hour for Wiley to leave. He said Maxberry tried to enter Somerset multiple times but was denied by security because he didn’t have an ID.
Maxberry was indicted June 2 on two counts of felonious assault and one count each of trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine, illegal possession of a firearm in a bar and tampering with evidence.
Maxberry was twice arrested for aggravated menacing in recent months and spent 46 days in jail before being released on April 8, according to court records.
He remains in custody at the Hamilton County Justice Center on a $555,000 bond, according to jail records.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Prosecutor says Somerset shooter stormed bar over $75 debt
Reporting by David Ferrara, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
