A Hamilton County, Ohio, jury on Friday convicted Rodney Hinton Jr. on every count in the death of retired sheriff’s deputy Larry Henderson, rejecting his claim that he was legally insane when he drove into Henderson. The verdict came after a 10-day trial and more than two days of deliberations.
The jury found Hinton guilty of murder, reckless homicide and felonious assault. He was taken into custody immediately. Sentencing is set for Nov. 16 at 9 a.m., and the murder conviction carries 15 years to life. His lawyer, Clyde Bennett, said the defense plans to appeal.
The case has a second half that the verdict does not touch. On May 2, 2025, Hinton struck Henderson, who was directing traffic outside the University of Cincinnati’s graduation. It happened hours after Cincinnati police showed Hinton body camera video of the shooting of his son, Ryan Hinton, by a Cincinnati officer the day before.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Connie Pillich ruled in June 2025 that the officer’s use of force was legally justified, and she did not take the shooting to a grand jury. The family’s attorney, Fanon Rucker, answered: “We obviously disagree with the idea that this is justified.” He noted that neighboring jurisdictions routinely present such cases to citizen panels. The family said it planned a civil suit.
So one case went to a jury of 12 and the other did not go to one at all. Ryan Hinton’s death was reviewed by prosecutors alone. His father’s actions the next day were tried in open court. Local reports said the jury seated for that trial had two Black members.
What the trial turned on
Prosecutors argued the act was deliberate. Assistant Prosecutor Kate Burroughs told jurors: “This was murder.” A crash reconstruction expert testified that Hinton turned his car at the last moment to hit Henderson, and a forensic psychologist testified that he was not insane at the time.
The defense argued Hinton was an unmedicated man in psychosis and grief, that he was suicidal and had been aiming for a utility pole, and that hitting Henderson was an accident. Bennett told jurors that “not guilty of all the charges in the indictment or not guilty by reason of insanity is the only just verdict.”
After the verdict, Bennett said the family was “pleased that his life was spared.” Aggravated murder, the count the jury did not return, carried a life sentence. Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey called the tragedy “of his own making” and said: “We can all now grieve and move forward with some finality.”
Henderson, who had retired from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, was working a traffic detail at the graduation when he was killed.
Hinton returns to court Nov. 16. The Hinton family’s civil case over Ryan’s death is a separate matter.
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