BY MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP -- A Springfield Township man accused of killing his cousin's husband on Monday claimed in a 911 call to police that the man assaulted him. "He tried to rape me and I ain't in on that," Oliver Joe Washington, 56, of the 5200 block of Innes Avenue, told the operator.
On the tape, Mr. Washington admitted shooting the man and said, "I'm gonna shoot him again if you don't get here." Police said that after the shooting, Mr. Washington returned to the dying man and spit on him.
He was charged with one count of murder in Monday's shooting of Thomas J. Long, 57, of Over-the-Rhine.
Mr. Washington pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Tuesday and is being held in the Hamilton County Justice Center on $75,000 bond. According to a statement read during arraignment, a witness told police he "heard several gunshots and then saw (Mr. Washington) walk back into the house. (Mr. Washington) then came back out a minute later and apparently spit on the victim."
Police were called to Mr. Washington's residence at about 10:15 p.m. Monday and found Mr. Long lying face up in a flower bed on the front lawn.
He was suffered one gunshot wound to the chest and he was rushed to Franciscan Hospital -- Mount Airy, where he was later pronounced dead.
Gregory Taylor, a resident of Innes Avenue, said he had let his dog out Monday night when he noticed Mr. Washington and the victim standing on Mr. Washington's porch.
"I didn't really pay attention, but then I heard two shots," Mr. Taylor said.
Mr. Taylor said he felt something graze his face and looked down to see a mangled bullet on his living room floor. "I am really surprised by this," his wife, Renee Taylor, said.
"He's really very mild-mannered. He was never rowdy," Mrs. Taylor said of Mr. Washington.
Springfield Township Police Capt. David Schaefer said Mr. Long and Mr. Washington were at the Innes Avenue home for a couple hours before the shooting. On the 911 tape, Mr. Washington said the two had been drinking together.
Mr. Washington told police the victim was his cousin's husband. He told police he took Mr. Long to his home to "counsel him" on problems he had been having, Capt. Schaefer said, adding that there was no indication of any argument.
A Jennings Bryco .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun belonging to Mr. Washington was recovered, Capt. Schaefer said.
