Father of teen convicted of rape ambushes judge

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The man who shot and wounded a judge outside a county courthouse before being killed by a probation officer was the father of a Steubenville High School football player who was convicted of rape in 2013, authorities said Monday.

Jefferson County Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. was shot around 8 a.m. near the courthouse in Steubenville, roughly 30 miles west of Pittsburgh.

Authorities identified the gunman as Nathaniel “Nate” Richmond, 51, the father of Ma’Lik Richmond. Ma’Lik Richmon, then 17, served about 10 months in a juvenile lockup after being convicted with another Steubenville football player of raping a 16-year-old girl during an alcohol-fueled party in 2012.

The case brought international attention to the eastern Ohio city of 18,000 and led to allegations of a cover-up to protect the football team.

Investigators are still looking for a motive in the shooting and haven’t found a connection to the rape case, said Jefferson County Prosecutor Jane Hanlin. Records show Bruzzese was overseeing a wrongful-death lawsuit that Nate Richmond filed in April against the Jefferson County Metropolitan Housing Authority.

Courthouse video on Monday shows both the judge and Nate Richmond firing about five times each, said Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla.

Bruzzese, 65, was talking after being wounded, Steubenville City Manager James Mavromatis told WTOV-TV. The judge was flown to a Pittsburgharea hospital. Republican Gov. John Kasich said he was told Bruzzese would survive.

Judge Joseph Corabi said he and the county’s two other judges park in reserved spots next to the courthouse. Judges then walk a few feet down to a side entrance to the building, said Corabi, the Jefferson County juvenile and probate court judge.

“Everybody knows who parks there. That’s why it’s not an accident what happened. He was clearly an intended target,” Corabi said.

The chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, Maureen O’Connor, called the attack a “cowardly ambush.”

Bruzzese hears general and domestic relations cases as one of two judges serving in Common Pleas Court.

The state crime lab will help investigate the shooting, said Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine.