A special prosecutor has been appointed to handle the case involving a fight at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse last month.
Clermont County Prosecutor Mark Tekulve was appointed by Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Dinkelacker to “inquire into allegations of potential criminal activity” related to the fight.
The June 22 confrontation in the restaurant’s parking lot involved at least one of the sons of WCPO weatherman Steve Raleigh. Raleigh is the son-in-law of former sheriff, prosecutor and judge Simon Leis Jr.
Leis and Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers are both longstanding members of the county’s Republican party. Since news of the fight went public, accusations of favoritism have been made on social media and by Powers’ Democratic opponent in the November election, Connie Pillich.
“It is important that the public have confidence in the equal application of the law,” a press release from Powers’ office said. “No duty is more important for a prosecutor. With this appointment, the public can be assure that justice in this matter will be administered fairly and impartially.”
What happened?
On June 22, a minor crash occurred in the restaurant parking on Riverside Drive and “large fight” broke out, police said.
Raleigh’s family member – whom The Enquirer has not named because he hasn’t been charged with a crime − was driving a black Cadillac Escalade in the Boathouse parking lot when he hit a white Ford F-150 after failing to yield to oncoming traffic, a crash report reads.
The occupants of the truck, Lois and Doug Morrow, had just picked up their son, Troy Morrow, an employee at the Boathouse.
The family said after the crash Doug Morrow insisted on calling the police instead of just exchanging insurance information. That’s when Doug was attacked and his wife was injured while trying to break things up, the family said.
Security cameras in the area were not functioning at the time. City officials would not say how many cameras in the city are not working, but federal funds have been requested to address this issue.
Police documents classified the incident as a possible assault.
The Raleighs have not given an account of what happened. However, WCPO vice president Jeff Brogan issued a statement saying Steve Raleigh had shared his side of the story with management at the station. Brogan noted that the cell phone videos circulating on social media do not show the entire incident.
Cincinnati police have been investigating the incident for five and half weeks. No one has been charged, but the investigation is still ongoing.
While the police would normally take their charges to Powers, the Cincinnati investigators will now take any potential charges before Tekulve.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Special prosecutor appointed for Montgomery Inn Boathouse assault case