CINCINNATI, Ohio — One of the two men involved in a shootout inside a crowded East End nightclub in March has pleaded guilty to a federal weapons charge, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Derrick Long pleaded guilty on November 6 in federal court in Cincinnati to illegally possessing ammunition as a previously convicted felon, a charge punishable by up to 15 years in prison, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Hamilton County prosecutors said Long, 30, acted in self-defense when he returned fire after being shot several times at close range by Franeek Cobb, 25, the Enquirer reported. Long fired at least eight rounds, according to court documents cited by the Enquirer.
The shooting happened March 1 at Riverfront Live during a private party attended by about 800 people. Prosecutors said eight bystanders were wounded in the crossfire, according to the Enquirer. The shootout was captured on surveillance video: Cobb looked at Long, pulled out a gun and shot him several times at close range, and Long fell to the floor, then pulled out a gun and returned fire, prosecutors and court documents said, as reported by the Enquirer.
The case has drawn attention since March because the gunfire erupted inside a packed private party, wounding bystanders who had no part in the dispute, and because both men were legally barred from possessing firearms or ammunition by earlier felony convictions — the fact at the center of the federal charges filed against each of them, according to the Enquirer.
“My office is dedicated to pursuing federal charges against those who wreak havoc on our communities through acts of violence,” U.S. Attorney Dominick Gerace II said in a statement quoted by the Cincinnati Enquirer, saying the plea holds Long accountable for his part in the shooting.
Long has previously been convicted of felony charges including heroin and fentanyl trafficking, carrying a concealed weapon and arson, according to the Enquirer. Cobb, of Bond Hill, still faces state charges including attempted murder, felonious assault, inducing panic and several gun charges, as well as a federal charge of illegally possessing a gun as a convicted felon, the Enquirer reported.
What happens next: Long will be sentenced in federal court on the ammunition charge, which carries a maximum of 15 years, while Cobb’s state and federal cases continue separately in Cincinnati.
Photo: Antony-22, CC BY-SA