Charges dropped for man accused in downtown fight last summer
By Felicia Jordan
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CINCINNATI (WCPO) — Charges against a man accused of taking part in a downtown fight last summer were dropped Tuesday, the same day the criminal trial was scheduled to begin.
Alex Tchervinski was charged with disorderly conduct; Videos of a man later identified as Tchervinski showed him slapping another man during a downtown brawl caught on clips that went viral online last summer.
In court Tuesday morning, witnesses for the prosecution failed to appear for what should have been the first day of Tchervinski’s trial; after defense attorneys protested any additional delays to trial, the judge announced the charges were instead dismissed.
Following court, a city spokesperson sent the following statement:
“Witnesses who the City anticipated would provide key evidence were not present at court today. As this was the second trial setting for this matter, the case was dismissed for want of prosecution.”
Police originally announced a 45-year-old white man has been charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, in connection with the fight near the intersection of 4th and Elm streets in the early morning of July 26. Police did not name the man, citing Marsy’s Law, as he has also been identified as a victim in the fight.
We spoke with Tchervinski who told us he was the person charged with disorderly conduct.
He was one of eight people charged in connection with the fight. The seven people charged first were Black, something Black community leaders took issue with — calling for police to charge a white man they believed to have incited the fight.
“The Black community of this city demands to be respected, and until justice is fully served, this city can not and will not move forward,” state Rep. Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati) said during a community meeting about the fight last summer.
Tchervinski has pleaded not guilty to the charge he faces; his legal case has been unavailable online.
The City Solicitor’s Office, which filed the disorderly conduct charge, explained the sealed nature of the case in a statement to WCPO 9 News.
“In an effort to comply with Marsy’s Law, the city has filed a motion with the court to have the court weigh in on what should be made public and what should not,” a spokesperson said.
Marsy’s Law is designed to protect crime victims’ rights and privacy.
Tchervinski’s attorney, Doug Brannon, told us last year he’s not sure why the city decided to file charges yet keep the case under seal.
“I can’t explain why the city brings a charge and then wants to try and conceal it at the same time,” Brannon said. “I think that this is something that needs to be aired to the public.”
Brannon said Tchervinski and his friends were celebrating a friend’s birthday at a bar on Fourth Street that night. He said nothing happened inside the bar that spilled over outside and that Tchervinski was acting in self-defense.
“We’re not aware of anything that led up to the assault that happened for my client. It appears to be a racially motivated assault,” Brannon said.
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