On Halloween night, a woman named Deryka Minor suffered a vicious assault at a Cincinnati nightclub. According to Minor’s attorney Clyde Bennett, 20-year-old Kameiro Blair-Martin, who worked at the nightclub as a barback and busser, assaulted his client.
Bennett says Blair-Martin punched Minor in the face at least 15 or 16 times, leaving her close to losing consciousness. As the beating continued, he allegedly reached toward his waistband in a manner that Minor interpreted as an attempt to draw a firearm.
That’s when Minor drew her own handgun and fired one shot, striking and killing Blair-Martin.
According to Bennett, Blair-Martin was armed and that a gun was subsequently recovered beside him. Bennett says Minor had never met Blair-Martin and still does not know why he attacked her.
During a court hearing last Wednesday, a Cincinnati police detective agreed that Minor was the victim of an assault and acted to defend herself. Blair-Martin’s homicide has been deemed a justifiable use of deadly force, but Minor still faces charges for unlawfully carrying a concealed firearm because she’s not old enough to lawfully carry one.
Just like her assailant, Deryka Minor is 20 years old. And under Ohio law, you must be 21 to carry, with or without a valid carry license. Unlawful concealed carry of a loaded firearm, or one with ammunition readily available, is a fourth-degree felony in the Buckeye State. It’s also a third-degree felony to unlawfully carry a concealed handgun in an establishment where liquor is served on the premises. Assuming the business hadn’t posted signage declaring it a “gun-free zone,” a 21-year-old could have lawfully brought a gun into Memories Lounge, but it was against the law for Minor to do so.
