3 Downtown Cincinnati brawl suspects appear in court

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Three people were sent to jail on charges related to the brawl that happened early Saturday morning on 4th Street in Downtown Cincinnati.

Montianez Merriweather, Dekyra Vernon, and Jermaine Matthews were the first charged in connection to the fight that received national attention after video went viral. All three suspects had their bond hearings on Wednesday, and new details about the fight came to light.

Police arrested two of them on Tuesday, and Matthews turned himself in overnight. Matthews was allegedly the man in the red shirt in the video seen punching and stomping a man. Matthews' attorney said he was involved in the fight because the man police refer to as a victim kicked Matthews car and called him a racial slur.

“He sees the same individual kicking his business vehicle,” said Brandon Fox, Matthews’ Defense Attorney. “He confronts the guy and says, ‘What are you doing?’ That's when, in this clip that does exist on social media, it doesn't paint the whole picture, this white individual reaches over, says, That's your car, and slaps my client in the face. That person, the alleged victim in this case, threw the first punch.”

Dekyra Vernon is 24 years old and lives with her mother in Evanston. Her record up until now only included traffic tickets. In the video she was allegedly seen with long, curly hair, attempting to hit one woman and then allegedly later hitting another woman from behind, with that woman eventually being knocked out by someone else.

"The woman that was injured and knocked out,” asked the assistant prosecutor of Det. Barney Blank with the Cincinnati Police Department. “She was trying to turn her aid to another victim at a time?"

"She was rendering aid to another victim that was on the ground trying to get him back to his feet,” replied Blank. “He's actually trying to get his pants back on because they beat his pants off of him. And while she's rendering aid to that gentleman there, that's when Ms. Vernon comes up and strikes her in the face. This for no reason at all."

34-year-old Montianez Merriweather is from South Cumminsville. He served seven years in prison for armed robbery and was out on bond for four felony gun charges when the fight occurred.

"We have Mr. Merriweather coming up behind the victim, striking him in the side of the face from behind,” said Detective Blank.

The judge asked, "So, you'd call this a surprise?"

"So this was more, kind of like an ambush,” Blank replied.

Jermaine Matthews is charged with assault and aggravated riot, for now but police are expected to add an aggravated assault (WKRC)

Local 12 spoke with Merriweather's cousins after the hearing. They said the prosecution distorted the facts, and their cousin is not a bad guy.

“He's a wonderful guy. He did his time as they said it. But he since he did his time, he has changed his life completely. Everything they're trying to point them out to be a thug that is not him,” said a family member.

“I gotta tell you,” Local 12 reporter David Winter replied, “I saw him in the video. And he was pretty violent.”

“He was,” she admitted. “You'll be violent as somebody called you a racial slur.”

Merriweather's cousins said they want to know why the man police are calling a victim is not getting charged. After all, the detective admitted in court today he hit one of the suspects first. The prosecutor intimated in court that those charges may be coming.

Dekyra Vernon is facing the same felonious assault, assault and aggravated rioting charges. (WKRC)

Matthews was charged with assault and aggravated riot. His bond was set at $100,000, but will go up Thursday when police add felonious assault to his charges. Vernon, the female defendant, got a $200,000 bond. She and Merriweather already have all three charges filed against them. Merriweather got a $500,000 bond.

The prosecutor planned to present the cases to a grand jury by August 8.