Blendon Township officer charged with murder in shooting of pregnant Ta'Kiya Young

A Franklin County grand jury handed up an indictment against a Blendon Township police officer, charging him with murder in the fatal shooting of a pregnant woman and her unborn child nearly a year ago.

Blendon Township police officer Connor Grubb, 29, is charged in the Aug. 24, 2023 fatal shooting of 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young, who was six months pregnant. Her unborn daughter also died as a result of the shooting.

Sean Walton, an attorney representing Young's family , released a statement shortly after the indictment, calling the charges against Grubb a step toward police accountability.

"Ta'Kiya’s life and that of her daughter were extinguished in an act of brutality, becoming yet another symbol of the urgent need for reform in police conduct and accountability," Walton said.

A union representing Grubb expressed its disappointment in the charges.

What do we know about Ta'Kiya Young's death?

Grubb faces four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and two counts of involuntary manslaughter, according to an indictment filed Tuesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

Young died after Grubb shot her in the chest. Grubb had been struck by Young's vehicle as she tried to drive out of her parking spot outside Kroger on Sunbury Road, police said.

A Kroger employee had flagged down two Blendon Township officers in the parking lot helping a woman who locked her keys in her vehicle after Young and several other people were observed on video stealing multiple bottles of liquor from the store.

Video from Blendon Township police and the Kroger store shows an officer approaching Young's vehicle's driver's window and giving her multiple commands to roll down her window and turn off her car. A second officer, now identified as Grubb, stands in front of Young's vehicle.

The redacted body camera video shows Young turning the steering wheel of her car, and then the vehicle moves forward, hitting Grubb. Grubb fired a single shot, which went through the car's windshield and struck Young in the chest.

Young was already seated in her vehicle when officers approached — making them unable to see her stomach area. The officers were not aware the 21-year-old mother of two was pregnant, police said.

Surveillance footage from the store's parking lot shows both of Grubb's feet were off the ground at the time he fired the shot.

While Blendon Township has not formally identified the officer , Young's family had previously identified him.

After the shot was fired, Young's vehicle continued moving forward through the parking lot and over a curb, striking the store and coming to a stop. The officers broke out the driver's window of Young's vehicle to get to her to provide medical aid, according to the body camera video.

A doctor in the parking lot at the time helped officers provide first aid to Young until paramedics arrived on the scene.

Both Young and her unborn daughter died a short time later at Mount Carmel St. Ann's hospital in Westerville.

The grand jury heard the case against Grubb after the Montgomery County Prosecutor's office presented it. The Franklin County Prosecutor's office had requested the outside agency review and present the case because the prosecutor's office would represent Blendon Township in any civil lawsuits.

Young's family has not filed a civil lawsuit yet but could file one at any time up to two years from the date of her death.

Who is Connor Grubb?

Grubb, 29, has been a Blendon Township police officer since 2019, according to records from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy.

It is the only police agency he has worked for in Ohio. As of Monday, he was listed as a full-time officer with the agency.

Grubb attended the Delaware Area Career Center’s law enforcement program before being hired in Blendon Township.

When will Connor Grubb be in court?

The Montgomery County Prosecutor's office said the court issued a warrant for Grubb's arrest as part of the indictment.

The office said Grubb is scheduled to have his first court appearance on Wednesday afternoon.

What is Connor Grubb charged with in Ta'Kiya Young's death?

The indictment filed against Grubb charges him with four counts, each of felonious assault and murder, as well as two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

The four counts of murder include two counts regarding Young and two counts against Young's unborn daughter.

Under Ohio law, a person can be charged with multiple counts related to different theories of how a death occurred. In Grubb's case, he is charged in all four counts of causing the death of Young and her unborn daughter as a proximate cause of a felonious assault, commonly called felony murder.

What has Ta'Kiya Young's family said about Connor Grubb's indictment?

Walton, the Young family's attorney, called the indictment a "solemn victory."

Young’s grandmother, Nadine Young, and Walton lauded the grand jury decision during a short news conference held at the law offices of Walton + Brown after the indictments.

Nadine Young said the family is devastated by the loss. Ta’Kiya Young’s children miss her, and the family recently struggled to celebrate several birthdays without her.

"It's been, for me, agony," Nadine Young said. "It's been like a whirlwind of hurt and pain."

The grandmother said she’s been unable to properly mourn as she’s followed the court proceedings and was especially hurt to see Blendon Township use Marsy’s Law — a law designed to protect the identities of crime victims — to shield Grubbs’ name from public release.

Walton said he doesn't trust Blendon Township to properly investigate Grubb, saying the government decided to paint him as a victim.

"I think that shows there are fallacies in that internal investigation," he said. "I think he should be terminated immediately."

Nadine Young and Walton said they believe Grubb pulled the gun on Ta'Kiya Young with the intent to shoot her if she didn't comply, and that, in their eyes, that constitutes murder.

"It was wrong for him to take her and that baby out of this world," Nadine Young said.

Walton said the family is ready to file a civil suit in the matter and hopes they can reach a conclusion with Blendon Township to prevent that strain.

Walton also attacked statements made by Brian Steel, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9 after the shooting, saying Steel had a "cowardly, yet consistent, readiness to excuse the inexcusable."

"His insistence on saying the loud part silently, that he also saw how the shooting could be viewed as a murder, proved yet again that he possesses neither the courage nor the credibility to speak for the countless officers in this city that set out each and every day to do the right thing," Walton said. "He upholds systems of oppression while holding back the good officers who also seek systemic change for our communities."

Walton also said Steel and the police union are not "authentic and reliable allies for truth and justice."

"This indictment serves as a clarion call that the voices of the people will nevertheless be heard and respected," Walton said. "We find strength in a unified demand for accountability, transparency and true justice, and we will continue to fight for a society where such travesties are relics of the past and not recurring nightmares, narrated by uncertified boogeymen such as Steele (sic)."

What did Grubb's attorneys say after the indictment?

Mark Collins and Kaitlyn Stephens, local attorneys who have represented other police officers indicted in on-duty shootings, said in a statement Tuesday that the indictment was an expected outcome.

"When viewed through the eyes of a reasonable police officer, the evidence will show that our client's actions were justified when there is video evidence that Officer Grubb was hit by a moving vehicle," Collins and Stephens said. "This case is not about if Connor Grubb made the decision to use deadly force, but why he made the decision to use deadly force."

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The attorneys said it is "crystal clear" the grand jury did not receive instructions from the special prosecutors about the law regarding justification, which led to the indictment.

"Even more troubling after reviewing the indictment is the fact that the Special Prosecutors cannot even convince themselves of one theory of how this is murder," Collins and Stephens said.

What did Blendon Township say after Grubb's indictment?

Blendon Township Chief John Belford said in a statement after Grubb's indictment that the disciplinary review process has begun within the agency.

"No one at Blendon Township has passed any judgment on whether Officer Grubb acted within the law," Belford said. "However, since people who've been indicted may not legally possess a firearm, the indictment against him leaves us with no choice but to begin the disciplinary process."

Belford said the department is now identifying Grubb because he has been publicly identified in the indictment.

What has the Fraternal Order of Police said about Grubb's indictment?

In a statement Tuesday, Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9 President Brian Steel said the union is "deeply disappointed" by Grubb's indictment.

"The grand jury process does not include a presiding judge or defense attorney," Steel said. "Prosecutors are free to present whichever evidence they deem fit. However, this discretion can sometimes be misused, leading to politically motivated indictments, which are highly concerning."

Steel said the charges against Grubb compromise the pursuit of justice.

"Like all law enforcement officers, Officer Grubb had to make a split-second decision," Steel said. "These decisions are made under extreme pressure and often in life-threatening situations, with the primary goal of safeguarding the general public's and their own lives."

How does Franklin County's grand jury process work?

Since 2019, four other Franklin County law enforcement officers have been indicted by grand juries for crimes related to on-duty shootings. But grand juries have declined to file charges against officers in multiple other cases, including a shootout on Interstate 70 in which a Columbus police officer was injured and a bank robbery suspect died, and the July 2023 shooting of 45-year-old Antwan Lindsey, who was armed at the time .

Grand juries in Ohio counties consist of nine people, selected randomly through either registered voter lists or those lists plus driver's license records, depending on the county. Franklin County uses registered voter rolls.

In Franklin County, grand jurors are selected to serve for four months. The same nine people do not necessarily hear cases weekly during that four-month period. Franklin County requires grand jurors to serve at least two consecutive weeks, but beyond that, flexibility is offered for work and family obligations.

Before being seated on a grand jury, panelists are not questioned about preconceived biases or life experience as they are by attorneys in criminal or civil cases.

The members of the grand jury are not asked to evaluate guilt. They are asked to determine if there is enough evidence for a criminal case to move forward. The decision does not have to be unanimous, with only seven of the nine grand jurors needed to agree for a decision to be made.

Grand juries use the preponderance of evidence standard, meaning it is more likely than not, or 51%. At a criminal trial, a person can only be found guilty of a crime if the evidence exists to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

Grand jury proceedings are secret, meaning the public cannot observe them. The prosecutor is the only person presenting evidence, and a defense attorney does not cross-examine witnesses.

Dispatch reporter Bailey Gallion contributed to this report.

bbruner@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blendon Township officer charged with murder in shooting of pregnant Ta'Kiya Young