Attorney General Garland honors team that investigated Dayton mass shooting

DAYTON, Ohio -- U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland honored the team of individuals who successfully investigated and prosecuted the person who illegally possessed and supplied the firearm used by the mass shooter in Dayton’s Oregon District on August 4, 2019.

In the hours and weeks after the shooting, people in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a team of federal and local law enforcement agencies worked tirelessly to determine whether the shooter had acted alone, how he had acquired the weapons and what his motive was. Through hundreds of warrants, subpoenas, and interviews, the team gathered and analyzed mounds of forensic, electronic, and physical evidence to provide answers to the community. While the investigation ultimately concluded that the shooter had acted alone, it resulted in the successful prosecution of Ethan Kollie, an associate of the shooter’s, who had lied on ATF forms to obtain firearms from a licensed gun dealer.  Kollie received 32 months of federal imprisonment.

 “This award recognizes that the substantial information the team gathered concerning the shooter’s motivations and methods gives us a key tool in preventing similar domestic attacks in the future,” said Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. “The team worked hard to provide answers to the community and that resulted in a participant being held accountable for his role in the attack.”

Attorney General Garland presented an Attorney General’s Award for Outstanding Work in the Investigation and Response to a Domestic Terrorist Attack in Dayton, Ohio at a ceremony in Washington on July 12.

The prosecution team included:

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace,

Former First Assistant U.S. Attorney Vipal J. Patel,

Paralegal Catherine Robillard,

Victim Witness Specialist Acquanette Lindsey,

Justin Sher, Trial Attorney with the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division;

Christina Conrad and Linda James, FBI Victim-Witness Specialists in Cincinnati Field Division;

Michael Herwig and Morgan Spurlock, FBI Supervisory Special Agents;

Patrick Gragan and T.A. Staderman, FBI Special Agents; and Charles Balaj (Oakwood Public Safety), Brad Meeker (Dayton Police Department), Kyle Metz (Greene County Sheriff’s Office) and A.J. Schweier (recently retired from West Chester Police), FBI Task Force Officers, Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Here is a link to the Attorney General’s complete awards announcement.

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