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Green Township, OH - The man who police say was on an armed robbery crime spree died more than a week after he was shot by police. Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters called Robert Schneider a menace to society.
Deters and the police chiefs from Green Township and Cheviot showed surveillance video of two robberies and cruiser cam and body-cam from the officers from the now-fatal shooting.
They also revealed the gun Schneider had used in his robberies was broken and not loaded. But, he reminded people that neither the police nor the people he robbed could have known that.
A surveillance video from the Bridgetown mini-mart from the day before the shooting was played. It showed a woman drive up and go inside. Not long after, Schneider is seen walking up to the car and getting in. Deters said a 15-year-old girl was in the backseat. She is seen trying quickly to get out of the car before Schneider drives off. She had to get checked out at the hospital for minor injuries.
Shortly before the shooting on July 31, Schneider is on another surveillance camera robbing the Marathon gas station in Green Township.
That's when police caught up with Schneider. He's seen on an officers dash cam crossing Geyer Woods Lane. Deters said he had just tried to get into one house but failed. As he crossed the street, he pointed the gun at the Green Township officer's cruiser.
Schneider continued to another home where Deters said he tried to force his way inside. He said an older woman, who had her niece and nephew inside managed to keep him out.
The Green Township officer and the Cheviot officer both approached Schneider. The Green Township officer can be heard on her body cam telling dispatchers that he was pointed his gun at them.
He repeatedly ignored commands to drop his gun and both officers fired shots, hitting Schneider.
Schneider died at about 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 9.
Deters said the fact that Schneider's gun was inoperable had no bearing on the officers' actions. He called both of them heroes. "He put a lot of people believing that they were going to die that day. He put them in that position."
Had he survived, Deters said Schneider was facing six felony charges.
He's is accused of stealing from Saks Fifth Avenue, robbing Kimmy's Korner Market in Covington, stealing a bottle of high-end liquor from Hyde Park Wine & spirits and trying to force an acquaintance to withdraw money from an ATM before stealing his car in the days leading up to the shooting.