CINCINNATI (Court TV) — After days of deliberation, an Ohio jury rejected a man’s insanity claim in the killing of a sheriff’s deputy he struck with his car.
Rodney Hinton Jr. appears in court on Oct. 23, 2026. (Pool/Court TV)
Rodney Hinton Jr. had faced five charges, including aggravated murder, murder and felonious assault in the death of Deputy Larry Henderson on May 2, 2025. While jurors convicted him on one count of murder, they rejected the aggravated murder counts in favor of a lesser charge of reckless homicide.
Hinton’s attorney, Clyde Bennett, told the jury in his closing arguments that the defendant was suicidal and legally insane at the time of the crash. “He was struck with grief and acute bereavement,” Bennett said, because the defendant’s son, Ryan Hinton, had been shot and killed by officers with the Cincinnati Police Department the day before.
Prosecutor Kate Burroughs argued that Rodney Hinton wasn’t grieving — he was angry. “Just over 24 hours before Deputy Henderson was killed, the defendant lost his son at the hands of a police officer. Whether that shooting was justified or not is not why we’re here,” Burroughs said in her closing argument. “But it’s evidence, and you can consider it in deciding the defendant’s state of mind. He saw the uniform, and he reacted.”
Investigators said that Rodney Hinton had stopped his car in the center lane of the road for 15 seconds before suddenly turning the steering wheel and driving his car straight into the victim. “Larry saw it coming, but just barely, and took a step to get out of the way,” Burroughs said. “But the defendant tracked him. He turned his wheel in the same direction that Larry moved and the car struck Larry, throwing him, tossing him into the air, twisting him until he landed, his head smashing on the pavement.” Burroughs noted that the deputy’s uniform hat landed on the passenger side of the defendant’s Ford Focus.
In her closing argument, Burroughs reminded the jury that experts testified during the weekslong trial that the defendant’s brakes and tires were working correctly at the time of the crash. Data from the vehicle showed the car went from 0 to 43.97 mph in seconds, with the accelerator pressed down at 93.3% before the crash. “He was in control of that vehicle,” Burroughs said. “The defendant drove towards Larry Henderson, a law enforcement officer, with the specific intent to kill him. Just because there’s no other logical explanation.”
Judge Jody Luebbers scheduled Rodney Hinton’s sentencing for Nov. 16.
