A Franklin County jury returned 12 not guilty verdicts for a man accused of firing at a COTA bus two years ago and injuring a passenger.
The Columbus Dispatch reports 21-year-old Anthony Saunders III was acquitted on all 12 counts of felonious assault, with a gun specification for each. The counts represent the 10 bus passengers who were in the line of fire and the two occupants of a car that investigators think was the intended target.
The charges are in connection with an April 16, 2013 shooting that involved a COTA bus heading northbound on 4th Street at 8th Avenue.
Saunders was accused of shooting at a red Chevy Impala driven by a man with a female passenger. The car was traveling westbound on East 8th Avenue. The COTA bus had just pulled over to drop off passengers at a stop at the time of the shooting. Amy Develvis, a passenger on the bus, was struck in the head.
Saunders faced more than 20 years in prison.
