Ex-Centerville officer gets bond in case of Hamilton 3-year-old’s death by gunshot

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

A former Centerville police officer was booked Monday into the Butler County Jail following last week’s indictment for involuntary manslaughter after a 3-year-old boy shot and killed himself with a handgun in March at a Hamilton residence.

Benjamin Bishop, 26, turned himself in and was arraigned in Butler County Common Pleas Court for felony endangering children and reckless homicide in addition to involuntary manslaughter. Magistrate Matt Reed set bond at $100,000 cash or surety. He pleaded not guilty.

Bishop was the boyfriend of the toddler’s mom, Hailey Rodriguez. If released on bond, Bishop has been ordered to wear a GPS monitor, not travel outside of Ohio and to say away from Rodriguez and their infant child.

The case is assigned to Judge Noah Powers II and Bishop is scheduled to be back in court July 11 for a pretrial hearing.

The loaded gun was found unsecured on a window sill, according to Lindsay Sheehan, assistant Butler County prosecutor.

Emergency crews responded at about 7 p.m. March 30 to the 900 block of Park Avenue and found the child with a gunshot wound on the left side of his head. Jared N. Green died a day later from head injuries.

He was taken from the scene by ambulance to Kettering Health Hamilton on Eaton Avenue, then to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, where he died, according to the Hamilton County Coroner’s office.

Police were alerted to the shooting when a male 911 caller told dispatchers about the incident.

“He picked up a firearm,” the caller told a Butler County dispatcher.

After a few questions on his condition, the dispatcher asked, “He did shoot himself, right?”

“Yes, we believe so,” the caller said.

The caller said the gun used was on the second story at the residential home when it was discharged. The caller said the child’s mom is a nurse but could not control the bleeding despite applying pressure. The boy also experienced seizures after he apparently shot himself.

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