The following day, Rodney Hinton Jr. allegedly drove a car into a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Henderson, while he was operating a traffic light at the intersection of Martin Luther King Drive and Burnet Woods amid UC’s commencement, killing him.
Middletown history
Living in Middletown at the time, Hinton Jr. was charged with aggravated robbery and two county of felonious assault from a Middletown incident in March 2023, court records show. A grand jury heard evidence in the case and referred the case back to Middletown Municipal Court.
Hinton Jr. later plead guilty to reduced charges of aggravated menacing and assault in May 2023 in Middletown Municipal Court.
In late March, he was cited for not displaying a license plate in Middletown on his vehicle and he paid the fine.
Court on Tuesday
The courtroom was packed with several deputies and family and friends of Hinton.
One person was escorted out after a disturbance. They were heard yelling, “I just want to see my brother!”
Cincinnati Police Department homicide detective Carl Beebe testified in court on Tuesday.
Beebe said Rodney Hinton Jr. was at the police station originally around 10:30 a.m. on Friday and then returned several hours later. He left the parking lot around 12:49 p.m. before the incident happened. According to Beebe, Hinton appeared to be agitated.
Beebe said Henderson was launched several feet in the air and came to rest in a turn lane. Prosecutors said in court that the state believes Rodney Hinton Jr. “ran over the first officer he saw.”
The defense requested a competency evaluation of Rodney Hinton Jr.
The judge ordered that Rodney Hinton Jr. would continue to be held in the Clermont County jail without bond.
The judge said he could not recall a case he had ever seen like this. “This is the most unusual case,” the judge said.
WCPO contributed to this story.
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