Video After The Jump
The mother of a man who was fatally shot had an emotional outburst in court Tuesday after Tevin Biles-Thomas, brother of Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, was acquitted of a 2018 triple homicide.
Biles-Thomas, 26, was acquitted on all charges after Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Joan Synenberg said prosecutors did not have sufficient evidence to convict him. Biles-Thomas was accused of fatally shooting three men during an altercation at a 2018 New Year’s Eve party in an Airbnb property.
Delvante Johnson, 19; Toshaun Banks, 21; and Devaughn Gibson, 23, were killed in the alleged dispute.
Synenberg granted a motion Tuesday by Biles-Thomas’ attorneys to dismiss the case based on insufficient evidence, noting in her ruling that a witness’ description of clothing worn by the shooter was “75 percent accurate at best,” according to courtroom video published by WEWS.
A mistrial had already been declared in May after jurors said they were inadvertently given legal briefs between prosecutors and Biles-Thomas’ legal team.
Following the ruling, a woman stood up and rushed toward Biles-Thomas, yelling, “You have to be f------ kidding me.”
“I’m going to kill you,” she said.
The Cuyahoga County court confirmed in a statement that “a person in the gallery charged toward the defendant” after the ruling and thanked the sheriff’s department for its assistance.
The woman was identified as Johnson’s mother by Joseph Patituce, one of Biles-Thomas’ defense attorneys. Patituce said Synenberg’s ruling paid “incredible attention” to the evidence presented and that the state failed to prove its case, but they understood the pain for the families who lost their loved ones.
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