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Police: Man who shot judge was father of athlete convicted of rape

By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, Associated Press
Published: August 21, 2017, 8:23pm
9 Photos
FILE - In this March 17, 2013, file photo, Nathaniel Richmond, father of Ma’Lik Richmond, apologizes to the victim and her family after his son and co-defendant Trent Mays, were found delinquent on rape and other charges after their trial in juvenile court in Steubenville, Ohio. A prosecutor said Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, that Nathaniel Richmond was the man who shot and wounded Jefferson County Judge Joseph Bruzzese.
FILE - In this March 17, 2013, file photo, Nathaniel Richmond, father of Ma’Lik Richmond, apologizes to the victim and her family after his son and co-defendant Trent Mays, were found delinquent on rape and other charges after their trial in juvenile court in Steubenville, Ohio. A prosecutor said Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, that Nathaniel Richmond was the man who shot and wounded Jefferson County Judge Joseph Bruzzese. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, Pool) Photo Gallery

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man who shot and wounded a judge outside a county courthouse before being gunned down by a probation officer was the father of a high school football player who was convicted of rape in 2013, authorities said Monday.

Jefferson County Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. was shot Monday morning near the courthouse in Steubenville, across the Ohio River from West Virginia’s northern panhandle and just west of Pittsburgh.

Authorities identified the gunman as Nathaniel “Nate” Richmond, the father of Ma’Lik Richmond. Ma’Lik, then 17, served about 10 months in a juvenile lockup after being convicted with another Steubenville High School football player of raping a 16-year-old girl during an alcohol-fueled party in 2012.

The case brought international attention to the eastern Ohio city of 18,000 residents and led to allegations of a cover-up to protect the football team.

Investigators are looking for a motive in the shooting and haven’t found a connection to the rape case, prosecutor Jane Hanlin said.

A visiting judge from Hamilton County, where Cincinnati is located, handled the majority of the rape case.

Records show Bruzzese was overseeing a wrongful-death lawsuit that Nate Richmond filed in April against the Jefferson County Metropolitan Housing Authority. A hearing on a motion by the housing authority to dismiss punitive damages claims was set for Aug. 28. Messages were left for Richmond’s attorneys.

Richmond had a few traffic violations in the past couple of years, and several years ago he was arrested on various domestic violence and assault charges, court records show.

The prosecutor said Bruzzese was shoved to the ground during Monday’s attack. Courthouse video shows the judge and Richmond firing about five times each, Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla said.

Bruzzese was talking after being wounded, Steubenville City Manager James Mavromatis told WTOV-TV. The judge was flown to a Pittsburgh-area hospital. Republican Gov. John Kasich said he was told the judge would survive.

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