A Colerain Township man has pleaded guilty for his role in a triple shooting that left one man dead and two others wounded inside The Office bar in 2024. Samuel Jordan III, now 44, admitted to one count of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of felonious assault, and one count of abduction, resolving a case that began with a late-night karaoke party and ended in a cross-country manhunt.
According to court documents cited by WKRC, Jordan was involved in the August 2024 shooting at The Office club, which sits on Springdale Road in Colerain Township. The shooting killed 41-year-old Christopher Potter and injured two other people. The Hamilton County coroner identified Potter as the man killed in the gunfire, per the same station's report.
The violence erupted just after midnight during a karaoke night and birthday celebration at the bar, according to Crime Solvers Central, which reported that the gathering included free food and music before a dispute turned deadly. The two surviving victims, a man and a woman, suffered serious but non-life-threatening gunshot wounds and were rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for emergency treatment, the outlet reported.
A Month-Long Manhunt Ends in Florida
Jordan did not stick around Hamilton County after the shooting. The Colerain Township Police Department's Criminal Investigative Unit led the local investigation, and a murder warrant was issued, according to a Colerain PD statement relayed by reporter Brittany Harry on Facebook.
The search stretched into a month-long, multi-agency effort involving the U.S. Marshals Service before Jordan was finally arrested on September 27, 2024, by Apopka Police near Orlando in Orange County, Florida, as Hoodline previously reported. He was held as a fugitive from justice pending extradition back to Hamilton County.
Reduced Charges Carry Decades of Prison Exposure
Jordan's guilty plea swaps the original murder charges for involuntary manslaughter, which under Ohio Revised Code § 2903.04(A) is classified as a first-degree felony when committed as the proximate result of an underlying felony, carrying a statutory sentence of three to 11 years, according to Ohio law. The two felonious assault counts he admitted to each fall under Ohio Revised Code § 2903.11, a second-degree felony punishable by two to eight years per count, with possible mandatory enhancements if firearm specifications are proven, per the same statute.
Altogether, Jordan faces a potential maximum sentence of 38.5 years in prison, WKRC reported. He is next scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, October 13.
A Family Left to Cover Funeral Costs
Potter's death left his family scrambling to cover sudden funeral expenses, and relatives set up a GoFundMe memorial campaign in the days after the shooting, according to the National Gun Violence Memorial. He was 41 years old.
Part of a Broader Pattern in Colerain Township
The surviving victims were treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, which operates Greater Cincinnati's only Level I adult trauma center and houses a specialized 41,000-square-foot emergency facility built for severe trauma care. The Office shooting also sits within a larger regional picture.
The Office shooting also sits within a larger regional picture. Cincinnati recorded 2,635 violent crime incidents citywide in 2024, according to FBI data compiled by OpenCrime, as local law enforcement agencies across Hamilton County continue sharing intelligence to address ongoing public safety concerns.
