Prosecution agrees to reduced charges in 2016 shooting because witness story changes

Averoyan Sandridge
Averoyan Sandridge

A Hamilton County judge dismissed several charges Wednesday against a 28-year-old father accused of attempted first-degree murder after prosecutors said a key witness changed her story too many times.

Police say Averoyan Sandridge jumped over a fence in the 2500 block of East Third Street and opened fire on the mother of his two children through a screen door at 11:42 p.m. on April 19, 2016. The bullet instead caught his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend in the hand. But Hamilton County Assistant District Attorney Kevin Brown said Sandridge's former girlfriend changed her testimony too many times for the prosecution to confidently go to trial.

"She wavered on her statement during a preliminary hearing in court," Brown explained Wednesday. "Subsequently, she gave me a third account. I feel this [dismissal] is appropriate given the facts and the likelihood of successful prosecution at trial."

Brown said he agreed to dismiss Sandridge's attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, domestic aggravated assault, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass charges after several conversations with Deputy Public Defender Mike Little.

Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Tom Greenholtz sentenced Sandridge to 11 months and 29 days on his remaining charge of reckless endangerment. Sandridge pleaded no contest to the charge, meaning he accepts punishment but neither accept or denies responsibility for the shooting. He has been incarcerated pretrial for about a year and is now eligible for release, defender Little said.

Sandridge's charges were bound over to the grand jury after prosecutors called his ex-girlfriend, Amber Higgins, and her new boyfriend, Darden Diaz, to testify against him on April 26, 2016. Higgins testified Sandridge called minutes after the shooting from his grandmother's number and admitted to it.

"'I know you came over and shot me,'" she recalled telling him over the phone. "And he said, 'Yeah, I did.'"

But on a cross examination a few minutes later, Little said Higgins told him a different story when he called her the day before.

"Do you remember you talking to me yesterday?" Little asked. "I asked you about this telephone conversation."

"He denied it," Higgins replied.

"He didn't say, 'I did it,' did he?" Little said.

"What he said was, 'I know [about the shooting],'" Higgins said. "That was before police were there."

Little repeated himself: "He didn't say, 'I shot him [Diaz],' did he?"

She stuttered and Little repeated himself.

"What you said on direct examinaton a few moments ago was 'yeah I did,'" he said. "And what you told me yesterday was 'I know.'"

Little paused. "Did he say, 'I did, I shot him?'"

"He said something to that effect," Higgins replied.

"So what you told me yesterday was not true," Little said.

"I'm telling you what he said," Higgins said.

Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.

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