Trial starts in Springfield man’s death in Huber Heights bar

Victim killed after ‘mob of people’ jumped him.

Prosecutors argued that a large fight sparked a deadly shooting at a Huber Heights bar.

Defense lawyers said too many people were in the fight to know who shot and killed 19-year-old Joshua Hamilton of Springfield.

Opening arguments were made Wednesday in the murder trial of Michael D. Scott, 21. The shooting happened at Kricket’s Tavern,, 5478 Brandt Pike, in September 2015.

Assistant Prosecutor Kim Melnick argued Scott shot and killed Hamilton during a fight about a missing cellphone.

“A mob of people jumped on Joshua Hamilton,” Melnick said.

Prosecutors say after a series of punches and kicks, Scott pulled out a silver and black handgun and fired the fatal shot.

“He bent down, put the gun to his back and shot him,” Melnick said. “Then he ran away.”

Scott’s defense argues that there were too many people involved in the fight, that video cameras inside of the club do not determine who was shooting and that multiple guns were fired at the scene.

“Surveillance video from the outside of the bar is not clear enough to see who was involved,” defense attorney Marshall Lachman said. “You will hear testimonies that the casings found outside of the bar were not fired from the same gun as the casing that was found inside of the bar.”

Dr. Susan Allen, forensic pathologist for the Montgomery County Coroner’s office, was called to testify on Hamilton’s cause of death. Allen said the teen was killed by a single gunshot at close range.

“It was a contact wound,” Allen said. “The bullet entered his upper-middle back and traveled to his chest.”

Scott turned himself in on Oct. 2. Scott is being charged with two counts of murder, two counts of felonious assault, one count of weapons under disability and one count of illegal possession of a firearm in a liquor establishment, according to court documents.

The bar was ordered to temporarily shut down for two weeks following the shooting. Police said there were 209 calls for service at the bar from January 2014 through September 2015.

The bar is still open but has been renamed Sneaky D’s. Several witnessed to the shooting are expected to testify in the coming days.

About the Author