Day 6: 13 gunshots fired in 2017 gender-reveal party mass shooting, prosecutors say

More than a dozen shots were fired during a 2017 shooting at a home in Colerain Township that killed a woman and wounded eight others, prosecutors said.

Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Seth Tieger said a total of 13 shots were fired. Three children were among the wounded in the July 8, 2017, shooting on Capstan Drive.

Testimony continued Friday morning in the trial of James Echols, 26, and Michael Sanon, 24, two men accused of carrying out the attempted murder-for-hire.

Both men face multiple charges in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court including aggravated murder.

Dr. Gretel Stephens, a forensic pathologist with the Hamilton County Coroner's Office, testified to the injuries of 22-year-old Autum Garrett, the only shooting victim who died.

Garrett, who was not the target of the shooting, sustained six separate gunshot wounds, Stephens said. Only a single bullet was recovered during the autopsy.

Stephens said the "most quickly fatal" gunshot wound struck Garrett in the upper right breast, piercing her lungs and other organs.

"The lungs were pretty much collapsed," Stephens said, detailing how Garrett would've struggled to breathe in her final moments.

What happened on July 8, 2017?

The Garrett family traveled from their Indiana home to Cincinnati in the summer of 2017 to attend a wedding and spend time with family. On the day of the shooting, they went to a gender-reveal party for Autum Garrett’s cousin, Cheyanne Willis.

Sometime after 11 p.m., two men armed with handguns entered the house through an unlocked door, according to police reports, and began spraying the living room with bullets.

Willis, now 26, was the target of the shooting, according to trial testimony. She was shot in the left thigh.

In his testimony last week, Autum Garrett's husband, Bryan, said he remembered the front door of the house swinging open and a "flash" before he blacked out.

He said he regained consciousness to find his children bleeding and his wife unresponsive and only taking shallow breaths.

Bryan Garrett was struck in the head, thigh and wrist. He lost sight in one of his eyes, court documents say. The couple’s 1-year-old child was struck in the knee and arm; their 3-year-old child was shot in the head and both legs, but survived, the documents say.

Two other adults, Morgan Bradley and Elijah Clemons, were shot in the abdomen, according to the documents. Willis’ mother, Lori White, was shot in the hand. An 8-year-old also suffered a nonfatal gunshot wound.

Body camera footage played in court showed children and adults strewn out across the front room of the house on Capstan Drive. Autum Garrett was slumped over on the couch covered in blood.

Man testifies to paying accused shooters

On Thursday, another man accused in the case, Roshawn Bishop, testified that he paid Echols and Sanon $1,500 for their alleged role in the shooting.

Testimony revealed Bishop, 31, of West Price Hill was in an affair with Willis, who had loaned him $10,000 with the expectation he'd pay it back within 30 days.

Bishop testified that he was selling drugs at that time and was going to use that money to buy more product. He said Willis made it clear she needed the money back but his "business partner," who isn't charged in this case, didn't want to repay her.

Day 5: Man testifies he paid gunmen $1,500 in Colerain mass shooting

He said a plan was devised to hire Echols and Sanon to kill Willis to avoid repaying the money, adding he didn't initially want to go ahead with the plan but he ultimately agreed hours before.

Bishop grew up in the foster care system but has family ties in Columbus. He said he called his cousin, Vandell Slade, 33, of Columbus to help carry out the plan.

Slade, who Bishop said is affiliated with a Columbus gang, the Crips, is accused of connecting Echols and Sanon with Bishop, according to court documents. He's also facing murder charges.

Documents say Slade also drove Echols and Sanon to Willis' home, which Bishop said he pointed out to Echols the night before.

Bishop said he received a call from Slade just before the shooting, who said the front door of the house was open and there were people inside.

"I told him don't do it, come back," Bishop said.

Echols and Sanon wore shirts over their heads during the shooting, Bishop testified, adding they used a grill at his home to burn the shirts following the incident.

After the shooting, Echols commented that "he went in and just started shooting everything," according to Bishop's testimony.

Attorneys for Echols and Sanon questioned Bishop in court about his honesty in interviews with law enforcement. They've also argued his testimony is a bid to reduce his prison sentence.

"All roads lead back to Roshawn Bishop," Angela Glaser, Echols' attorney, said during opening statements.

Prosecutors said Bishop has not accepted a plea bargain in exchange for his testimony. He's currently incarcerated on drug charges and is expected to serve an additional sentence for his role in the shooting.

Enquirer reporter Kevin Grasha contributed.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Prosecutors: 13 shots fired in Colerain gender-reveal party shooting