911 callers report hearing multiple rounds fired during fatal Middletown bar shooting

The 513 Lounge in Hamilton on Monday, March 29, 2021. NICK GRAHAM / STAFF

The 513 Lounge in Hamilton on Monday, March 29, 2021. NICK GRAHAM / STAFF

A fatal shooting at the 513 Lounge in Middletown over the weekend was the latest at the establishment.

A Hamilton man died early Saturday morning outside the North Verity Parkway bar and others where injured when gunfire sprayed in the parking lot. Jerode Daijone Hill, 29, was one of the three men shot. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said. The other two men shot are expected to recover.

Police were called to the bar at 2:14 a.m. and found that numerous shots had been fired in the parking lot on the east side of the bar. The shooting occurred after a disturbance inside the bar, police said. On Monday, no arrests had been made.

Dispatchers received five calls when shots were fired, including four from people at or near the bar screaming for help.

A male caller from the apartment building across the street said, “513. Guns are going off. I heard nine rounds.”

With people screaming in the background, a male caller told dispatchers, “513 Lounge. Quick. They out here shooting.”

A female caller said, “He’s laying on the ground. Hurry up and get here, He’s laying here right in front of the bar.”

At least two other high-profile shootings have happened with connections to the bar in recent years. Middletown police officials met with bar owners Monday to discuss the most recent incident and past issues.

Police Chief David Birk said the owners are complying with more lighting and security cameras, and they are willing to hire off-duty officers for security in the parking lot.

“We are exploring every option, including the city’s nuisance ordinance. But the problem is some of this stuff is happening in the parking lot and down on Clark Street,” Birk said.

He added that for now the owners are being cooperative and doing what officials are asking.

“But we have to consider the safety of all the citizens,” he said.

On Oct. 11, 2020, Brandon Frank Nathanial Moneyham Sr. was shot to death during the early-morning hours. Police later arrested Marquan Cook in connection the homicide.

They said Cook was wearing an ankle monitor when the shooting happened. Cook was released from prison in November 2019 after serving 2 1/2 years for attempted felonious assault and was on post-release control, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction.

Cook was indicted by a Butler County grand jury on Oct. 23 for murder, felonious assault and having weapons under disability. He is scheduled to be in court on April 22 for a pre-trial hearing.

Early on Jan. 1, 2017, Mariama-Maria Richlen was killed when a vehicle in which she was riding fled from gunshots in the 513 Lounge parking lot and and crashed into a wall at the rear of St. John’s Church.

There was a New Year’s Eve party that night at the bar that was also attended by Teresa Shields, who later died at Atrium Medical Center when a car in which she was riding was struck by multiple gunshots early on the morning of Jan. 1. Shields’ boyfriend was driving the car, was also hit by gunfire and survived.

It is not known if the parking lot shooting that led to the crash and Richlen’s death and the shooting that killed Shields were connected.

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