Update: “On December 31, 2018, numerous people attended a New Year’s Eve party at a residence near Denison Avenue and W. 45th Street. Around 11:30pm, an uninvited group walked into the house and an altercation ensued between the uninvited guests and those who were invited. The altercation led to gunfire and multiple victims were shot, three of which were fatal. Several party attendees fled the scene. Cleveland Police responded to the scene immediately. DelVaunte Johnson, 19, and Toshaun Banks, 21, were pronounced deceased at the scene. Devaughn Gibson, 23, was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced deceased. Cleveland Police’s Homicide Unit conducted an investigation and identified Tevin Biles-Thomas as a shooter in the incident,” the Cleveland Division of Police and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said in a joint statement.
They added that the Cuyahoga County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Biles-Thomas with the following: 6 counts of murder; 3 counts of voluntary manslaughter; 5 counts of felonious assault; and 1 count of perjury.
Origina: Tevin Biles-Thomas, the 24-year-old brother of Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, 22, has been arrested in connection to a triple homicide in Cleveland, Ohio. Tevin was taken into custody on Aug. 29, according to Cleveland.com, and is being held in the Liberty County jail until a Sept. 13 arraignment in Cuyahoga County Commons Pleas Court. “The relentless persistence of Cleveland police homicide detectives helped secure an indictment in this case,” a Cuyahoga County Prosecutor said in a statement. “It is through their hard work that we can begin to seek justice for these victims.” As the authorities piece together what happened, here’s what we know about the murders and Simone’s brother.
1. Tevin Biles-Thomas has been charged with murder. Simone’s brother was charged with murder, voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault and perjury in connection with a shooting at a New Year’s Eve party. The incident took place at an Airbnb rental apartment above a pizzeria on Denison Avenue near Fulton Road in Cleveland, Ohio.
A fight reportedly broke out after a group of men showed up uninvited to the party. They were asked to leave and, according to police, gunfire ensued. The victims — Devaughn Gibson, 23, DelVaunte Johnson, 19, and Toshon Banks, 21 — were each shot multiple times.
2. Tevin was born in Ohio. Just like his sister, Tevin was born in “the Buckeye State.” They didn’t grow up together, though. When Simone was three-years-old, Tevin and two other siblings were placed in foster care because of their biological mother’s drug and alcohol abuse, according to USA Today. Simone and her younger sister, Adria, were eventually adopted by their maternal grandfather and his wife. They grew up in Houston, Texas, while Tevin remained in Ohio.
3. Tevin was on active duty with the army when he was arrested. Tevin was arrested and booked in Georgia for a reason. The 24-year-old is currently on active duty with the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Stewart. That is also where he was taken into custody.
4. After his arrest, Simone said she wasn’t in the mood to “talk.” As news broke about Tevin Biles-Thomas’s arrest, Simone sent a message that she wasn’t in the mood to discuss her brother – or anything. “Eating my feelings,” she tweeted at 9:50 pm ET on Aug. 29. “Don’t talk to me.”
eating my feelings don’t talk to me
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) August 30, 2019
5. So far, he’s the only one arrested in this case. In addition to the three fatalities, a 21-year-old man was shot in the back of the head, and a 23-year-old woman was shot in the arm. Both survived the shooting. Tevin is the only one, so far, who has been arrested over the incident.
“The investigators within the Cleveland Police Homicide Unit remained committed to securing an arrest in this tragic case,” said Cleveland Division of Police Chief Calvin Williams in a statement. “We appreciate our partnership with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and are confident that their efforts will bring justice for the families affected by this terrible incident.”