Male accused of punching woman in face, knocking her out during Cincinnati mob attack finally appears in court
The male accused of punching a woman in her face and knocking her out during last month's mob attack in Cincinnati has been extradited from Georgia and faced an Ohio judge Friday morning, WXIX-TV reported.
Patrick Rosemond, 38, had been in Fulton County, Georgia, where he was arrested Aug. 4 and was brought back overnight to Hamilton County, Ohio, prior to his 9 a.m. court appearance, the station said.
Rosemond is seen on video dancing, high-fiving spectators, and taunting victims following the 'violent attack,' the prosecution added, according to WXIX.
Cincinnati police and prosecutors say Rosemond is the male who punched and knocked out the woman known as Holly during the mob attack, WXIX reported.
Cellphone video (1:34 mark) shows Holly, who is wearing a blue dress, apparently trying to intervene on behalf of a beaten-up man, but instead another female punches her from behind — and seconds later, a male punches her in the face, knocking her flat on her back on the street.
Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio shared on X grisly images of Holly's face days after the beatdown.
"This is Holly," Moreno wrote in his post. "She wanted to have a nice evening out with friends. Instead, she got this."
Vivek Ramaswamy — who is running for Ohio governor — shared a disturbing close-up image of Holly's face after she hit the ground; her eyes are wide open, and her body is motionless. Video shows a few people soon trying to help her up.
Holly has spoken out several times since the mob attack.
During Friday's hearing, Hamilton County prosecutors asked the judge to set a high bond for Rosemond, WXIX reported.
The prosecution said that in addition to nearly killing Holly, Rosemond “assaulted each and every single victim in brutal and vicious fashion," the station noted.
Rosemond is seen on video dancing, high-fiving spectators, and taunting victims following the “violent attack,” the prosecution added, according to WXIX.
What's more, the prosecution said Rosemond has prior convictions — including 10 misdemeanors and three felonies — and is a flight risk given that he “fled the jurisdiction” to Atlanta, the station said.
Rosemond’s defense countered that going to Atlanta was pre-planned and was not a flight attempt, WXIX said.
The judge sided with the prosecution and issued Rosemond a $500,000 bond, the station said, adding that if Rosemond posts bond, he'll be required to wear an electronic monitoring device.
Rosemond and five other suspects were indicted last Friday on eight charges each: three counts of felonious assault, three counts of assault, and two counts of aggravated riot in connection with the mob attack. Each of the six suspects faces up to 29.5 years in prison if convicted on all eight charges.
A seventh mob attack suspect was arrested earlier this week on different charges — aggravated riot and aggravated robbery — after allegedly stealing a necklace off the neck of an assault victim.
Chief Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Kip Guinan also addressed other heated issues related to the mob attack.
First, a white male was seen on video slapping a black male in the face, after which the mob attack commenced. However, Guinan said that slap came after someone else was already beaten, not before, WXIX said.
Second, Guinan acknowledged that racial slurs are audible on some of the videos of the mob attack — however, he said the slurs were uttered "a minute and 47 seconds into the brutal beatdown," the station reported.
"Were there words said? Yes. Were they inappropriate? Absolutely," Guinan also noted, WXIX reported, before adding that "these poor people were being assaulted, stomped WWE-style, elbow-drops onto pavement. One woman was knocked out to the point her head hit the pavement. We could be here on a homicide.”
You can view cellphone videos of the mob attack here, here, here, here, and here.
Black leaders in Cincinnati have said the case's prosecution so far has been unfair to the black community — and have demanded charges against the white male seen issuing the slap.
"What incited and who incited the rioting? If the riot is because of a slap, who incited the rioting?" Rev. Damon Lynch said to a crowd Monday at New Prospect Baptist Church in the Roselawn neighborhood, WXIX reported in a separate story.
After Lynch, who is black, played video of the face slap, he told the crowd, "And [mean]while the only people charged — again I'll say it — are the ones who look like me," the station said.
BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock — who has been commenting consistently on the mob beatdown since it all unfolded late last month — blasted Cincinnati's black leaders for their stance.
"If anybody watched this video, if anybody sees men and women kicking a man while he's down, if anybody sees a picture of a woman beaten, knocked out, and says, 'Hey, I'm going to organize a press conference at a church in Cincinnati,' and black leaders are going to complain, 'Hey, why isn't this white man that's getting kicked in the head, why hasn't he been charged?' that's a group of people in need of some humility," Whitlock said.
RELATED: 2 female suspects jailed over Cincinnati mob attack get big breaks from judge
One of the clips Whitlock aired shows Rev. Lynch altering the lyrics of a Jim Croce song for his own purposes as he spoke to the crowd at church: "You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit in the wind, you don't pull the mask off the ol' Lone Ranger, and you don't slap a black man in the face."
Whitlock responded to Lynch's words by saying, "Why is he racializing this? It's disrespectful to slap anyone, regardless of color, in the face. Is he saying ... if a black person slaps a black person in the face, it's OK? If a black gang member shoots a black man in the face, it's OK? If a black gang member accidentally shoots some young black child, it's OK? But everybody knows that you don't slap a black man in the face, I guess, unless you're black. He's in a church talking about common street thugs — and I'll include the white guy in that, because he ... seemed to be trying to fight with someone. ... [The reverend is] justifying to the people in that audience and other black people in Cincinnati that if you get slapped in the face by a white person, a gang of you all should jump on that man and beat up the woman. This is inside of a church! This is insanity; this is lack of humility."
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Dominique Kittle. Image source: Hamilton County (Ohio) Sheriff's Office
(L to R) Jermaine Matthews, Dekyra Vernon, Montianez Merriweather. Image source: Hamilton County (Ohio) Sheriff's Office, composite
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