Man pleads guilty in niece's death but says he didn't kill her

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - A man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges related to the death of his niece during a shootout in 2018, but he wanted to be clear that he didn't kill her. Jonathan Green, 36, faced murder and other charges in the death of his niece, Diamond Green, 21. Diamond was celebrating her birthday and playing a game of quarters with friends when prosecutors said Jonathan and a man named Taureen Rice exchanged words and then gunfire. Surveillance cameras recorded the incident and prosecutors said Jonathan pulled Diamond toward him to use her as a shield. But at trial, Jonathan's attorneys were expected to claim their client was trying to pull her away from the violence. Jonathan pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter and felonious assault in exchange for a murder charge being dismissed. Had Jonathan been convicted at trial, he would have faced 38 years in prison. The plea agreement allows him to serve 12 years. "The victim's family is the defendant's family, so I think they would prefer I dismiss this entirely, so I can't really take into account what they want," said Katie Pridemore, the assistant prosecutor handling the case, when asked whether the victim's family approved of the plea agreement. Part of Jonathan's family that was outside of the courtroom was clearly unhappy with how the case was resolved. Family members could be heard yelling, which caused Jonathan's attorneys to turn around during the hearing. A deputy who was guarding Jonathan walked out of the courtroom to check on what was happening. "We just want to make it abundantly clear, and I promised I would say this for the record, that Jonathan did not fire the bullet that killed Diamond," said Scott Rubenstein, one of Jonathan's attorneys. Pridemore said this was a case of transferred intent because Jonathan and Rice were firing at one another to cause the other's death but not trying to shoot Diamond. Jonathan spoke briefly during the hearing about the shooting. "I would just like to say I do appreciate it being put out there that I wasn't the one that harmed my niece. I appreciate that," Jonathan said. "That been my big thing that I never did that. I just wanted that to be clear, and it gave me a little closure knowing that this is out there because it hurted me so bad like to even hear that I was the cause of it." Judge Ethna Cooper pointed out that the case had been painful for the entire Green family. Diamond was a mother. "A little girl, your niece is dead. I'll tell you time hasn't healed anybody in this case. It's a tragedy of huge proportions," Cooper said. Members of the Green family who were in court Tuesday declined to comment. They said they wanted other family members to hear about what had happened from them and no one else. Rice faces a felonious assault charge. He was charged with murder but those charges were dismissed in October 2018. He is due in court on Jan. 27.