COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — A teen was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on 20 charges Wednesday, including multiple counts of felonious assault and robbery.
WSYX has been following Tamari Stroughter’s case since he was arrested as a 17-year-old juvenile after allegedly shooting at four Columbus police officers following a fight with his girlfriend in January. Police also say he took part in an armed robbery five months earlier.
Records showed a juvenile court magistrate signed an order to lift the warrant for the teen’s arrest, and he did not appear in court again till after he was arrested for the three-minute shootout with police. An expert raised issues with the judge’s order, and Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther told WSYX, “We have a lot of work to do” to hold violent offenders accountable.
After Stroughter was arrested after the shootout, prosecutors say he made statements like “tell your officers to get better aim” and “my favorite hobby is shooting at police.”
Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge #9 President Brian Steel said two of the officers were brothers. “Two were veteran officers, brothers, working a car together. Think about that. You could have wiped out a family in one shot there,” Lt. Steel said.
The indictment against now 18-year-old Stroughter, filed Wednesday, includes aggravated robbery, felonious assault, robbery, receiving stolen property, weapons under disability, tampering with evidence, and more. He sis set to be arraigned Friday in Franklin County Common Pleas.
Previously, a judge set his bond at $2.1 million.
