The manager of a tobacco shop in Delhi Township is set to be sentenced on Monday for chasing and shooting at a fleeing group that broke into the store.
Earlier this month, a Hamilton County jury found Tony Thacker, 30, guilty of two counts of aggravated assault. He was acquitted of three other counts of aggravated assault and one count of tampering with evidence, court records show.
In October, Thacker was spending the night at the VIP Smoke Shop on Delhi Road when six people broke into the store by throwing a rock through the window, prosecutors said.
Thacker came out of the back room of the store and opened fire, killing 16-year-old Travis Johnson. While the other five intruders fled and got into a stolen car, Thacker gave chase and fired seven shots into the fleeing vehicle, according to prosecutors.
One of the occupants was shot in the back, two others were grazed by bullets.
Thacker called his brother after the shooting and together they collected the shell casings and turned off the security cameras, prosecutors said. They added that they did not call 911 or seek help for the dying teenager, who was still in the store. However, Thacker was cleared of any wrongdoing in Johnson’s death.
The store’s surveillance footage included video of a shooting that had occurred in the tobacco shop just a month earlier.
Thacker reported the shooting to police, saying someone shot him as he tried to break into the store. However, the video shows Thacker shooting someone who was trying to break into the store, prosecutors said.
“The sad part of this case is that he was first the victim of a serious crime and had previously been the victim of similar crimes while employed by VIP,” wrote Richard Goldberg, Thacker’s attorney, in a motion for a preliminary hearing.
In February, three juveniles pleaded guilty in Hamilton County Juvenile Court to numerous charges, including manslaughter, burglary and receiving stolen goods.
As part of the agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop additional charges and withdraw their request to transfer the juveniles’ cases to adult court.
Judge Kari Bloom found each of the teenagers guilty of delinquency and sentenced them to several years in an Ohio Department of Youth Services facility, from which they will be released before or at the latest on their 21st birthday.
Messiah Hart, 19, and Amontae Carter, 20, were charged with murder and burglary along with the teens. Their cases are still pending, court records show.
Thacker’s sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. before Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Wende Cross.
