Detective: Man accused of hitting shooting victim with brick is accused gunman's uncle

Editor's note: This story has been updated with new information clarifying that only one person was shot in the Aug. 8 incident.

The man accused of assaulting 34-year-old Edgar Lopez with a brick just before he was killed in a shooting in Covington this month is the uncle of the alleged shooter, a detective testified Wednesday.

Brian Gray, 51, is charged with assault in connection with an incident that happened the evening of Aug. 8, just minutes before Lopez was fatally shot in the 1200 block of Russell Street.

Dazzamon Jones, 31, who's accused of carrying out the shooting, is charged with murder. He surrendered himself to police on Aug. 12, officials said.

Gray appeared in Kenton County District Court on Wednesday afternoon for a preliminary hearing.

Gray and Lopez were fighting in front of a home on Banklick Street shortly after 6 p.m. that night when Gray used a brick to strike Lopez several times in the head, a criminal citation states.

Covington police Detective Brian Powers testified the assault was captured on surveillance video.

Several witnesses also observed the fight and told police that Lopez was at some point able to get ahold of the brick and struck Gray with it in self-defense, the detective said.

Gray later admitted during an interview with police that he approached and assaulted Lopez after seeing him on the street, according to the citation. He was arrested a day after the shooting.

Powers said it was Jones who identified Gray as his uncle.

Kenton County Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said Gray may be charged alongside Jones as a co-conspirator in Lopez’s killing.

His case will be presented to a grand jury, which will decide whether to indict him.

Gray’s attorney declined to comment on the case.

Covington police originally said a second unnamed person was injured and hospitalized and subsequent media reports said that two people had been shot.

Sanders said the incident was never a double shooting. Gray was hospitalized for injuries he sustained during his fight with Lopez, the prosecutor said.

Lopez shot with rifle while sitting in vehicle, police say

When police responded to the shooting on Russell Street, they found Lopez dead from numerous gunshot wounds, a criminal complaint states. He was behind the wheel of a black Kia Soul riddled with bullets.

Investigators reviewed surveillance video from a nearby business that shows a black Chevrolet Impala pull up behind the Kia before a man gets out, fires a rifle into the vehicle Lopez was sitting in and leaves the scene in the Chevrolet, the complaint states.

At least 26 shell casings were collected from the scene, investigators said.

Police used other surveillance footage to track the Chevrolet as it fled onto the interstate, the complaint says, adding investigators were then able to determine the vehicle was registered to Jones, who lives just around the block from where the shooting happened.

Two days after the shooting, investigators said, the Chevrolet was located in Middletown in the possession of Jones’ cousin, who told police Jones gave her the keys at his residence and said the vehicle was hidden under a nearby bridge.

Police then executed a search warrant on Jones’ home and found rifle magazines and ammunition consistent with the type of weapon used in the shooting, the complaint says. Markings on the ammunition matched markings on the shell casings recovered from the crime scene.

A witness told investigators they saw Jones get into his Chevrolet and drive around the block toward Russell Street just before the shooting, according to the complaint.

Investigators also said the height, weight, build and hairstyle of the shooter captured on video were all consistent with pictures of Jones.

Jones is being held at the Kenton County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond, jail records show. He was indicted Thursday on a single count of murder and is scheduled to appear before Circuit Judge Patricia Summe on Monday for an arraignment.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Covington shooting: Accused gunman's uncle may face new charges