Bond set at $200K each for 2 women charged in Hamilton shooting death

Bond was set today for two women indicted last week by a Butler County grand jury for the death of a man shot in Hamilton late last year.

Jamie Strack and Chelsea N. Bussell are both charged with involuntary manslaughter and kidnapping for the Dec. 17 death of Brandon York, according to court records. Both women appeared before common pleas court Judge Charles Pater this morning, and bond was set at $200,000 each. They entered not guilty pleas.

FIRST REPORT: Police investigating Middletown man fatally shot in Hamilton

York, 30, of the 600 block of Concord Avenue in Middletown, died at Bethesda Butler Hospital after suffering a gunshot wound. His death was ruled a homicide by the Butler County Coroner’s Office.

Investigators determined the incident occurred in the area of 12th and Hanover streets in Hamilton. In December, police said they had persons of interest in the shooting.

Assistant Butler County Prosecutor Dan Phillips said Strack, Bussell and York were part of a deception to get another man to leave his residence and get into a vehicle with the intent to cause serious physical harm. During the commission of the alleged crimes, York was shot.

Detectives served search warrants connected to the case in the city’s North End, including the area of Vine Street, shortly after the shooting that involved the SWAT team.

Bussell, 26, of Starr Avenue in Hamilton, was booked into the Butler County Jail on Wednesday night. Strack, 38, formerly of of Meadowview Court in Fairfield and Hamilton, was booked into the jail Saturday night, according to jail records.

The women are scheduled to be back in court April 14 for a pre-trial hearing

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