Geneva shooter will not face charges
Aug. 29—An Ashtabula County Grand Jury declined to return an indictment against a man involved in a fatal shooting July 9 in Geneva.
According to a news release from Ashtabula County Prosecutor Colleen O'Toole, the grand jury determined that a Geneva man acted in self-defense when he shot another Geneva man, 30-year-old Matthew Lambert, in the chest during a confrontation in the street. Lambert was pronounced dead at the scene.
O'Toole presented the case to a grand jury on Aug. 23 on charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter. The grand jury returned a "no-bill" for the case, according to the prosecutor.
The Aug. 23 grand jury decision was announced in a press release sent out on Monday morning. Calls for further comment to O'Toole were not returned Monday afternoon.
"We stand behind the Grand Jury's decision in this matter," O'Toole stated in the release. "The Grand Jury was presented with all the witness statements, photos, videos from the scene and follow-up interviews, including investigator findings."
O'Toole stated the evidence revealed a self-defense claim and is an absolute defense against a charge for murder.
Ohio's "stand your ground" law means that if a person is legally in a particular place, there is no duty to retreat.
"All the relevant evidence revealed that the accused reacted out of fear," O'Toole stated.
In a related matter, a grand jury returned an aggravated menacing indictment for Taz Douglas Lambert, the dead man's father, on a first-degree misdemeanor charge, according to O'Toole. The case will be transferred to Western County Court for adjudication.
The incident occurred late in the afternoon of July 9 during a traffic disagreement. The shooter was interviewed but not arrested after the incident.
