CLEVELAND (WJW) — A Cuyahoga County Court acquitted Tevin Biles-Thomas, brother of Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles, in a trial where he was charged for triple murder.
Biles-Thomas, 26, faced multiple counts of murder, voluntary manslaughter and felonious assault. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court officials said Judge Joan Synenberg granted a motion for acquittal by the defense for lack of evidence.
Following the ruling, a person in the gallery charged toward the defendant but was held back by court personnel and security. The woman who charged at him screamed, “You killed my baby!” Three sheriff’s deputies tackled the woman before she could reach Biles-Thomas.
The county released video showing the woman from the gallery run towards the defendant.
The case stemmed from a shooting that happened at a house party in Cleveland on Dec. 31, 2018. Police said a group of people who were not invited showed up, resulting in a fight and gunfire. Three died: Delvante Johnson, 19; Toshaun Banks, 21; and Devaughn Gibson, 23.
Tuesday’s motion for acquittal ended the second attempt to prosecute the case. The first time the case was brought it ended in a mistrial.
Last month, Synenberg declared a mistrial after jurors said they had read legal paperwork that inadvertently was included in evidence given to them to review, which included copies of legal briefs from Tevin Biles-Thomas’ lawyers and prosecutors arguing over whether he might have acted in self-defense.
Biles-Thomas, a soldier in the U.S. Army, was arrested in Georgia in August 2019.
