The Rodney Hinton Jr. case centers on a Cincinnati father charged with aggravated murder for allegedly driving his car into Hamilton County Sheriff’s Deputy Larry Henderson on May 2, 2025, one day after Hinton’s 18-year-old son Ryan was shot and killed by a Cincinnati police officer. Hinton has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, the death penalty has been taken off the table, and jury selection is set to begin October 5, 2026.
What Prosecutors Say Happened
Around 1:05 p.m. on May 2, 2025, retired Deputy Larry Henderson was directing traffic in uniform and a fluorescent vest for the University of Cincinnati’s spring graduation near Burnett Woods. According to the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office, Hinton waited for traffic to clear on Martin Luther King Drive, accelerated across multiple lanes, and struck Henderson before crashing into a pole. Investigators said they found no skid marks and no evidence he tried to stop. Henderson died shortly afterward.
Henderson was 57 and had served 33 years with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office before retiring in December 2024. He was a Marine Corps veteran and left behind a wife and five children.
Why the Day Before Matters
On May 1, 2025, Cincinnati Police Department officers from the Fugitive Apprehension Squad approached a stolen Kia in a parking lot on Warsaw Avenue in East Price Hill. Four men inside fled on foot. Ryan Hinton, 18, ran between dumpsters. Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich said Ryan slipped, dropped a handgun, picked it up, and pointed it at an officer identified in records only as “Officer A,” who fired four to five shots from about ten feet away. Ryan died at the scene. Officers recovered a loaded handgun with a round chambered and an extended magazine from his pocket.
The morning of May 2, Rodney Hinton Jr. gathered with family members at their attorney’s office to watch the body camera footage. The Cochran Firm said he became “understandably distraught,” could not finish watching, and left alone in his vehicle without telling anyone where he was going. The collision with Deputy Henderson happened a few hours later.
On June 17, 2025, Pillich announced the shooting of Ryan was “legally justified” and did not refer the case to a grand jury. The officer’s name has not been released; Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge cited Ohio’s Marsy’s Law, which the Ohio Supreme Court affirmed in November 2025 can shield the identities of officers classified as crime victims. The Hinton family’s attorney, Fanon Rucker, disputed the finding, describing the body camera evidence as “primarily blurry” and arguing “it is not clear that Ryan posed any threat.”
The Charges and the Insanity Plea
Hinton was arrested May 2, 2025, and held without bond at the Clermont County Jail. A grand jury indicted him on May 8 on two counts of aggravated murder, one count of murder, and two counts of felonious assault. The aggravated murder counts initially carried the possibility of the death penalty.
His defense attorney, Clyde Bennett II, told reporters early on that the incident was “classic mental illness, criminal conduct” and that Hinton was not “in his right mind.” Three mental health experts evaluated him: one hired by the prosecution, one by the defense, and one appointed by the court. All three concluded he suffered from serious mental illness, with diagnoses of either bipolar disorder with psychotic features or schizoaffective disorder, and found the illness significantly hindered his ability to make rational decisions at the time of the crash.
In January 2026, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Jody Luebbers ruled that Hinton’s mental illness qualified him for protection under Ohio law, making him ineligible for the death penalty. Prosecutors agreed to drop the capital specifications. Hinton then formally changed his plea to not guilty by reason of insanity, and the defense retained forensic psychologist Dr. Maria Espinola to provide expert testimony.
New Charges From a Jail Altercation
On December 13, 2025, Hinton was involved in an altercation with corrections officers at the Clermont County Jail. Prosecutors said he became aggressive while being returned to his cell after a shower, punched one officer in the face and shoulder, and kicked another officer while on the ground. The incident was recorded on body-worn cameras. Hinton was indicted on three counts of felonious assault and pleaded not guilty. A judge set bond at $300,000 on those charges, though he remained in custody on the no-bond murder case. Bennett said the jail incident “should not inappropriately influence or impact” the Henderson trial.
Trial Schedule and Possible Sentence
The trial was originally scheduled for April 2026 but was postponed to accommodate the new expert witness. Jury selection is set to begin October 5, 2026, and Judge Luebbers estimated the trial would last about three weeks. If convicted, Hinton faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Settlement Dispute Over Ryan Hinton’s Death
A separate controversy has run alongside the criminal case. The Hinton family announced plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit over Ryan’s shooting, but as of early 2026 none had been filed. Rucker confirmed in January 2026 that the family had been in “ongoing communication with the city” since summer 2025.
On January 8, 2026, Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police President Ken Kober publicly accused City Manager Sheryl Long of “quietly negotiating a massive settlement” with the Hinton family, describing a “rushed ‘backroom deal'” potentially worth “millions of dollars in taxpayer money.” Long responded that “the City has not reached a settlement agreement” and rejected “the notion that any discussions are being rushed, are happening in secret, or are designed to keep information from City Council.” She called Kober’s claims “reckless, speculative, and highly inflammatory.” Rucker said the talk of a massive settlement was “news to me.”
City Council member Jeff Cramerding opposed any settlement, saying there was “no evidence of wrongdoing by the city or the officer.” Any settlement above the law department’s $900,000 annual budget for settlements would require a council vote. On January 12, 2026, council members met in a two-hour executive session and disclosed nothing afterward. An open records request confirmed no settlement agreement existed. As of mid-2026, no wrongful death lawsuit has been filed and no settlement has been publicly announced.
The Dismissed $25 Million Federal Lawsuit
A separate $25 million federal civil rights lawsuit filed in May 2025 in Hinton’s name is not part of his defense. It was filed by Antoinette Holloway, a Georgia woman who is not a licensed attorney. The suit named Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey, the Cincinnati Police Department, the Hamilton County Justice Center, the state of Ohio, and ten unnamed officers, alleging excessive force after Hinton’s arrest. Bennett said he and Hinton were “totally unaware” of the filing and called it “frivolous.” On September 9, 2025, U.S. District Judge Matthew McFarland dismissed the case, ruling Holloway had no authority to represent someone else in federal court.
Hinton remains in the Clermont County Jail awaiting the October 2026 trial.