- Tevin Biles-Thomas, 24, is charged in New Year’s Eve triple-killing in Cleveland
- The shooting occurred shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve at an AirBnB rental apartment above a pizza shop
- Police say a fight broke out when uninvited guests arrived at a party being thrown in the apartment
- Biles-Thomas, who is on active duty in the U.S. Army, is accused of opening fire on the group
- Devaughn Gibson, 23, DelVaunte Johnson, 19, Toshon Banks, 21, were killed
The brother of Olympic gold medal gymnast Simone Biles has been charged over a triple-homicide on New Year’s Eve in Cleveland.
Tevin M. Biles-Thomas was arrested on Thursday at Fort Stewart in Georgia over the fatal shooting at an AirBnB rental that left three men dead eight months ago.
The 24-year-old, who is on active duty in the U.S. Army, has been charged with murder, voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault and perjury.
The shooting occurred shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve at an AirBnB rental apartment above a pizza shop in Cleveland’s Brooklyn Centre neighborhood.
Police say a fight broke out when uninvited guests arrived at a party being thrown in the apartment.
Biles-Thomas is accused of opening fire on the group.
Devaughn Gibson, 23, DelVaunte Johnson, 19, and Toshon Banks, 21, were found dead at the scene when police arrived.
Biles-Thomas, who is in the Army, is seen left with an unknown woman and right with his sister, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles
Tevin Biles-Thomas is seen with his sister Simone in a family photo
They each suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
Two others were injured in the shooting, including a 21-year-old man who was shot in the back of the head and a 23-year-old woman who was shot in the arm.
Police said the shooter or shooters had fled by the time they arrived and no weapons were recovered at the scene.
Biles-Thomas is the brother of four-time Olympic gold medal gymnast Simone Biles. She has not yet commented on her brother’s arrest.
In a tweet shortly after news of the arrest broke, she wrote: ‘eating my feelings don’t talk to me’.
Her brother Biles-Thomas went to high school in Cleveland and is currently in the U.S. Army.
Biles-Thomas is so far the only person to be charged over the shooting.
It is not yet clear what investigative steps led homicide detectives to suspect Biles-Thomas some nine months after the shooting.
The shooting occurred in an apartment above this pizza shot, which was rented out on AirBnB
The AirBnB unit (above), which is still available for rental, charges $155 per night
The listing describes the unit as: ‘Large comfortable space minutes from the action of the city but secluded enough to get away’
‘The relentless persistence of Cleveland police homicide detectives helped secure an indictment in this case,’ Cuyahoga County Prosecutor O’Malley told Cleveland.com.
‘It is through their hard work that we can begin to seek justice for these victims.’
A Cuyahoga County Grand Jury returned an indictment on the following counts: Three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of voluntary manslaughter, five counts of felonious assault and one count of perjury.
He was taken into custody on Thursday in Georgia and is being held without bond there at the Liberty County Jail pending extradition to Cleveland.
It was not immediately clear whether Biles-Thomas had an attorney to speak on his behalf.
He is due to appear in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court for arraignment on September 13.
The AirBnB unit where the shooting occurred, which is still available for rental, charges $155 per night.
The listing specifies that no parties of any kind are permitted.
Biles-Thomas is seen left at his 2013 graduation and right with sister Simone
Simone Biles celebrates after competing in the vault during the senior women’s competition at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships August 9, 2019, in Kansas City, Missouri
source:dailymail