‘Street justice is not the way to go’
Mayor, police seek help to solve shootings
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YOUNGSTOWN -- "Street justice is not the way to go," Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown said regarding two homicides and two other shootings Friday and Saturday.
Brown and Capt. Rod Foley, head of the Youngstown Police Department detective division, spoke during a Monday news conference, asking the public to tell police anything they know that might help solve the crimes. So far, detectives say they have not received much information.
They stressed that callers to the two tip lines can remain anonymous. The tip lines are 330-746-CLUE and 330-742-8YPD. The news conference was at the Youngstown Police Department.
Brown offered his sympathy to "those who lost a loved one this weekend, but today our purpose is to let everyone know that street justice is not the way to go."
He said, "We know there are some out there, whether you are family or a friend, and you know something. A little thing you know can make a big difference with our detectives. Our men and women of the Youngstown Police Department work very hard, but without you, it makes their job even harder.
"So we ask if you are out there -- family and friends -- that you would share whatever information you have. We actually will be offering a reward for information for these incidents; the issues we are dealing with right now.
"I've experienced losing a loved one to gun violence, and I know how you feel right now. You want justice. You want someone to pay. But let me tell you street justice will not work," Brown said. "
"We will be here again if we continue to keep the cycle going. You hurt my friend. I hurt your friend. We have families that are affected for life because of our decisions, and I want you to help us so we can end the cycle of not just gun violence, but also not seeing anything."
Foley ran down the list of violent episodes that started Thursday afternoon and continued through early Saturday. Monday was Foley's first day in charge of the detective division.
"The biggest thing we came across as the first day on my new assignment, in speaking to our detectives, was we didn't have a whole lot of cooperation from our community out there," he said.
"It's early in the investigations, so we're not sure if people are a little timid to come forward yet, but we want to make sure we stress upon everyone that we are as good as our community, as far as law enforcement," he said.
He asked for the public's help in solving each of the crimes.
SHOOTINGS
• The first shooting victim survived. At 5:48 p.m. Dec. 31, a city woman, 27, was found face down in the driveway of a home in the 500 block of West Warren Avenue on the South Side. She was getting out of her car when she was shot in the chest by someone driving down the road in an unknown vehicle, Foley said.
She was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital. Police found multiple bullet casings in the road.
"Thankfully she's still alive, but unfortunately someone drove past and shot her," Foley said. "We're not sure if she was the intended target or not."
• The second shooting was a homicide. At 9 minutes after midnight on Jan. 1, Van Lightning was shot at the corner of Glenwood and Almyra avenues on the South Side.
Foley said he believes the victim left a party nearby and "was run down by some individuals and was shot down at the corner of Glenwood and Almyra. At this point we have no suspects," Foley said. The man was found dead near the road.
• The third victim was a city man, 19, who survived being shot in the back at a house party in the 2000 block of Chestnut Hill Drive on the West Side.
When police were notified, they learned that someone took the victim from the party in a vehicle. Officers found the vehicle with the victim inside. He was taken by ambulance to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital and was in critical condition. Police found bullet shell casings at the house.
"He is still alive, but we have no suspects," Foley said. "We are trying to get hold of people who were at the party to assist us in this investigation," Foley said.
• The fourth victim was John Pettiford, who died after he was found shot inside of a vehicle that crashed into a vehicle at Wirt Boulard and Delaware Avenue on the North Side at 2:30 p.m. Jan. 2. He was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.
"We don't believe he was shot at that scene," Foley said. "We believe he was shot at another location. But once again, we have no leads at this time to follow up on."
The occupant of the other vehicle involved suffered minor injuries.
Police Chief Robin Lees explained Thursday morning that Foley, former Youngstown police chief, would be moving from head of the road-patrol division to lead the detective division starting Monday. The change was prompted by the desire of Capt. Brad Blackburn to bid on Foley's former position, Lees said.