Today, Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich announced the indictment of Rodney Hinton Jr. on two charges of aggravated murder, murder, and two charges of felonious assault.

The aggravated murder charges carry the possibility of the death penalty.

Hinton, 38, on May 2, is accused of purposefully running down and killing Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Larry Henderson. Deputy Henderson was a retired deputy who was working a special traffic detail at the University of Cincinnati on graduation day.

Hinton spent the early part of that day at the Cincinnati Police department, where officers told him about a critical incident involving the death of his son. His son was caught in a stolen car with a gun and fled officers. The notification included a review of body-worn camera footage of the incident.

·        9:33 p.m.: Hinton arrived at the police department

·        9:51 p.m.: Hinton got upset and left the building

·        10:37 a.m.: Hinton left with family members, instead of in his own car, which he drove there

·        12:41 p.m.: Hinton returned to pick up his car

·        12:44 p.m.: Hinton left

·        12:49 p.m.: Hinton returned to the police department and drove through the parking lot

·        12:50 p.m.: Hinton left again

At that point evidence shows Hinton ended up driving east on Martin Luther King Drive near Burnett Woods Drive where Deputy Henderson was on a median engaged in traffic control. Deputy Henderson was in uniform and wearing a fluorescent vest, indicating his status as a working police officer. Hinton stopped, waited for traffic to clear, then at roughly 1:05 p.m. drove across multiple lanes of traffic at a high rate of speed targeting the deputy. He struck Deputy Henderson and crashed into a pole before coming to a stop. Henderson died later that night.

“This was a targeted killing of an innocent deputy who was working to protect and serve his community,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich said. “Additionally, Hinton put in danger the lives of many innocent people celebrating a momentous occasion in their lives – college graduation. This is a horrific crimes and my office is treating it as such. This bylaw carries with it the potential death penalty.”

Hinton is being held on no bond.

The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the critical incident involving Hinton’s son as a separate matter, as is routine.

“Please be patient as we review all the evidence,” Pillich said