An Ohio woman is in jail after reportedly shooting two people during an argument earlier this summer. She also appears to have shared two separate films recording some of the violence that occurred that sweltering night in Cincinnati’s Avondale neighborhood.
Akira Fletcher, 23, is accused of one count of aggravated murder, according to Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office documents.
The defendant was apprehended on August 31. The day before, she shared her side of the tale, complete with visual evidence, on Facebook. “This is what happened July 12th, there’s two 911 calls of me asking for them to please send somebody,” then the story starts. “I was being punched in my face, rocks thrown at me, and Nyema trying to get in my car.”
The lady identified in the message as “Nyema” appears to be Nyema Norton, 29, one of two women seen harassing Fletcher in companion videos. Norton died from her injuries around six weeks after being shot. The other woman managed to survive.
The Facebook post practically begs for attention, since it tags Cincinnati’s Fox, ABC, NBC, and CBS affiliates.
That night, the violence occurred slowly and late. Officers responded to the crime on Reading Road around 2:30 a.m.
In the first video, Fletcher is seen inside her car, breathing heavily as the two other ladies stalk her outside. After telling the women they are going to jail, the defendant continues to narrate.
“She just threw another rock at me,” Fletcher said. As you can see. She is slicing my tires. She is slicing my tires. She and her cousin are slashing my tires. As we can see. I keep a pistol in my purse. I keep a pistol in my purse. They’re attempting to force me to get out of the automobile.”
Halfway through the first video, there is a loud thudding sound. The camera then swiftly focuses on one of the two women, who appears to have caused considerable damage to Fletcher’s car’s back window, leaving a gaping mouth of broken and jagged glass.
Fletcher then takes up a half-saddle-like stance. She rises from her seat and looks to be standing either partially inside or just outside, just next to the driver’s side door.
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The defendant repeatedly warns her two assailants that they will face imprisonment. They shout back at her, initially from a distance of around two cars. The two women pace around, periodically yelling at Fletcher. One of the women mentions that Fletcher is pregnant. Fletcher and the other women keep trading jabs.
“You should be happy you don’t get clapped,” Fletcher responds five times in a row. Then she says, “Come anywhere near me, and I bet you’ll get clapped.”
The first video concludes with Fletcher driving her car out of an apartment complex parking lot. As she looks to drive away, an advertisement from her vehicle radio plays momentarily, picking up in the middle of a sentence: “-by making an impact together, touching lives for the better.”
The second video appears to be in the midst of something completely different. According to the video, Fletcher’s driver’s side window has likewise turned into a yawping jumble of tempered glass.
The other two women are around one car away from Fletcher when they walk right up to the damaged glass. She repeats the idea that they will go to jail and challenges one of the women to strike her again. The woman appears to comply with the order, rearing back and getting into the automobile.
Then four rounds are fired in fast succession.
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“She busted my driver side window out to attack me, she continued to try and get in my car to stab me and I let her hit me while I was on the phone with 911 asking for help,” continues Fletcher’s account. “I kept telling them to stop. I never got out of my car to fight, and I let her punch me more than once.
Both women were shot and sent to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Norton died on Aug. 26.
The Cincinnati Police Department previously attributed the incident to self-defense. However, the calculus appears to have changed.
While jail records only show one active allegation of aggravated murder, prosecutors told Cincinnati-based Fox station WXIX that a Hamilton County grand jury just indicted Fletcher on additional charges of murder and felonious assault.
The defendant is currently being held without bond.