A video shared with this reporter and the Springfield Police Division appears to show Steward striking a woman and pushing her following a verbal fight with a large crowd of people.
The woman was Tyla Mays, whose 23-year-old nephew KeAntra Mays was shot and killed in a shooting at a large birthday party June 28. Tyla Mays said she was at the apartment building Monday to protest the way in which her nephew, other homicide victims and their families are portrayed in Donahue’s book.
“You can say whatever you want to say, but you was not thinking about the families and what grief that book was going to do to them,” Mays said.
Mays said Steward struck her in the face and she suffered a swollen chin.
“We’re adults. You can talk without putting your hands on people,” she said.
She and others with whom this reporter spoke alleged Steward “swung at” multiple others, including minor girls, during the altercation.
Steward pleaded not guilty to a first-degree misdemeanor assault charge in Clark County Municipal Court on Tuesday.
According to court records, after police read Stewards his Miranda Rights, he said he had been surrounded by protesters “and was struck first, advising that he was simply defending himself. His version of events did not match the video that had been provided to officers.”
“Under the advice of our attorneys, we have no comment,” Donahue, speaking for herself and Steward, said in a text message after contacted by this reporter.
Donahue is the founder of the local Springfield Domestic Violence Coalition, which aims to use data to shed light on the issue in the city.
The book discusses a “culture of gun violence” and suggests that children who grow up in environments filled with violence and criminal behavior may internalize these norms, leading to the “intergenerational transmission” of violent conflict resolution and an increased likelihood of committing violent acts themselves.
The book also says that based on research using police data, “an individual’s position within a deviant social network can be a powerful predictor of violence victimization.”
It goes on to name specific homicide victims in Springfield and outline how their own social connections impact their “higher potential for involvement in network activities and, consequently, a greater immediate risk of exposure to whatever is flowing through the network, be it information, illicit goods, or violence.”
Donahue outlines multiple homicide victims’ family members criminal charges, including those of Randy Graham Jr.’s family. The book discusses charges rather than convictions. Graham was shot and killed in May.
Cara Graham, Randy’s sister, called the book “bull crap” and said she felt Donahue blamed victims’ families for their death. She said she was concerned that the book could jeopardize the chance for a fair trial in cases like her brother’s that have not yet gone to trial.
“Reading everything that she put out about everybody, it’s just kind of traumatizing and putting a bad name out there for each and every one of the families and stuff,” she said.
David Rose, Randy Graham’s father figure, said Donahue misrepresented the victims and their situations and he was disappointed the protest turned violent. He said he wishes Donahue had consulted the victims’ loved ones before publishing.
“We can’t even have the proper time to grieve because you have people like this trying to make a profit, trying to make a dollar off the people,” Rose said.
Shanice Gillam, niece of James Gillam, who was shot and killed February 2023, said the book “disrespects the memory of our loved ones” and said it “perpetuates a harmful narrative that suggests they somehow deserved the tragic fate they suffered.”
Amanda Stump, girlfriend of Justin Smith, whose death last year after going missing for weeks was classified by police as suspicious, and for which one person faces charges, and the mother of the son of Richard A. Howard, who was shot and killed February 2024, said she was “blindsided” by the book. She said, at the very least, homicide victims have banded together due to the book.
“What she’s done is she’s created a family out of this,” Stump said.
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