A Cincinnati jury rendered a guilty verdict last Wednesday in the murder trial of Hosea Thomas. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the jury convicted Thomas on all 11 counts he faced in the 2006 shooting death of rapper T.I.'s childhood friend and assistant, Philant Johnson, 26, including murder, five counts of felonious assault and illegally having a gun after a felony conviction.
Thomas will be sentenced on December 23 and faces a minimum of 20 years in the case, which hinged on the testimony of the defendant's brother, who was driving the car Thomas was traveling in on the night prosecutors said he opened fire on T.I.'s entourage.
Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Seth Tieger told the jury in closing arguments on Tuesday that Thomas became irate when he was denied access to the VIP room at the Club Ritz in Cincinnati on a night T.I. and Yung Joc were appearing at an afterparty there following a performance across town. Tieger said Thomas was angered that the area he was used to hanging out in was roped off for the rapper and that his anger was further fueled by a scuffle that broke out and resulted in Thomas, 35, being hit in the head with a liquor bottle. Tieger said those incidents were Thomas' motive for opening fire on the van carrying T.I. and his entourage, resulting in Johnson's death and injuries to three others.
T.I. testified on Friday telling jurors that he was sure the shots fired were intended for him, not his friends and entourage.
Prosecutors said that after the incident at the club, T.I.'s entourage left, and Thomas and his older brother, Padron Thomas, jumped into their Jeep Grand Cherokee and gave chase, with Padron at the wheel and the brothers' friend, 17-year-old Mose Patrick Brown, in the backseat. The Jeep pulled alongside T.I.'s van at one point, and Hosea began firing, Tieger said.
Brown testified last week that he saw Hosea Thomas fire the shots and that he was scared, but that the Thomas brothers paid him $800 to stay quiet about the incident. He eventually broke that promise and went to police with his story after becoming so distraught that he considered committing suicide. Padron Thomas also agreed to testify against his brother in exchange for a more lenient sentence.
GV Says: This is a truly unfortunate situation, but it's good to know that there are people who still have a conscious - Mose Patrick Brown.
this is 4 you clifford aka t.i i knw how u feel i lost my best fren 2 so i knw ur pain but keep on singing 4 ur fren rest in peace philant n t.i hope u keep strong
ReplyDeleteT.I STAY STRONG
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