Day 4: Wife of man accused in 2017 Colerain mass shooting testifies to clothes burning
The wife of another man charged in the 2017 mass shooting in Colerain Township testified Wednesday that she saw the two men now standing trial burning clothes at her home the night of the shooting.
"There was a grill lit and they were putting their clothes in the grill," Deborah Bishop said, adding she'd already cooked dinner, and there was no reason for the grill to be out.
Michael Sanon, 24, and James Echols, 26, are facing numerous charges in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court including aggravated murder.
Both are the accused gunmen in the July 8, 2017 shooting on Capstan Drive. Prosecutors say it was an attempted murder-for-hire.
Deborah Bishop is married to Roshawn Bishop, 31, of West Price Hill, who is also facing murder charges in the case.
She also testified her husband was acting uncharacteristically upset that night.
Alexandria Deardorff, an attorney for Sanon, pointed out there were details from Deborah Bishop's testimony that she didn't include during a 2018 interview with police, such as the clothes burning at her home.
Bishop said she didn't go into any details unless asked by police.
Deardorff also raised questions about Bishop's motivation for testifying because her husband, who is currently incarcerated on drug charges, is facing a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.
"If he did something wrong, convict him," Bishop said of her husband, adding she does want him to come home. Roshawn and Deborah Bishop met in the fifth or sixth grade, she said, adding they were both in the foster care system.
On Tuesday, jurors heard testimony from Cheyanne Willis, 26, who prosecutors say was the target of the shooting. Willis was shot in the left thigh.
Willis testified that she loaned Roshawn Bishop, who she met through her job at Boost Mobile and later had an affair with, $10,000 with the expectation he would pay the money back within 30 days.
Prosecutors say Bishop was a drug dealer who wanted the money for his illicit drug business.
Attorneys for Echols and Sanon pressed Willis regarding her relationships with drug dealers.
During her testimony Tuesday, Willis repeatedly denied having such relationships. She said she was unaware of Bishop's alleged drug activity, but later admitted she knew he was involved with marijuana.
"Cheyanne always seems to be on the periphery of criminal activity," Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Allison Oswall said during opening statements last week.
As Willis began pressuring Bishop to pay back the money, he made plans for Echols and Sanon to kill her, according to prosecutors.
Deborah Bishop said she knew her husband and Willis had a sexual relationship, but the couple was separated at the time.
She added that Willis "harassed" her starting in the summer of 2017 using multiple phone numbers, saying Willis sent her pictures of a baby and said Roshawn Bishop wasn't paying child support.
In her testimony, Willis denied ever making contact with Deborah Bishop.
Prosecutors have said that Willis told Roshawn Bishop she was pregnant with his child. But during her testimony, she said she told Bishop the child "could be his."
Nine people were shot, one fatally, on July 8, 2017, during a gender-reveal party for Willis at her home.
Willis told the media that she lost her fetus after being shot. But a week later, police announced Willis had admitted she wasn't pregnant.
Willis said she miscarried in June 2017 but went ahead with the gender-reveal party because she didn't know how to tell her family and friends, she said, admitting on the stand that she misled those who attended the party.
Also charged in the case is Vandell Slade, 33, of Columbus. Slade is accused of connecting Echols and Sanon with Roshawn Bishop, according to court documents.
The trial will continue Thursday at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Robert Goering.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Day 4: More testimony in 2017 Colerain mass shooting trial
