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Coroner IDs four killed on Sunday

Three shot at Torch Club, 1 dies in crash under I-680

By Ed Runyan 4 min read

YOUNGSTOWN -- The Mahoning County Coroner's Office has identified the three people killed early Sunday near the Torch Club bar and grill on Salt Springs Road, and a fourth man who died after a crash near the bar Sunday night.

They are Charles Boerio Jr., 27, who died after being found in vehicle that crashed at the intersection of Salt Springs Road and Greenwood Street several blocks east of the shootings Sunday morning, and Mikquan Stevens, 19, and Rayshaun Clay, 23, who were found with gunshot wounds near the bar Sunday morning.

The coroner's office also identified the man who was killed in a single-vehicle crash into pillars under Interstate 680 just west of the bar at 9:15 p.m. Sunday as Nicholas Boerio, 43.

Police have not said what the relationship is between the Boerios or whether Nicholas Boerio's death is connected to the three others.

Youngstown police said Sunday during a news conference that the person who died following a crash at Salt Springs Road and Greenwood Street was a victim of the gunfire at the bar.

The coroner's office said an autopsy will be conducted by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office on the body of Charles Boerio Jr. The Mahoning County Coroner's Office will carry out autopsies on the bodies of Stevens and Clay. An examination took place at the Mahoning County office on the body of Nicholas Boerio.

A Youngstown police report released Monday states the first police officer to arrive for the 2:11 a.m. Sunday call "found a chaotic scene with people and their cars fleeing from the area" all together. Officers blocked off and secured the area, holding vehicles, witnesses and evidence until detectives and crime lab (detectives') arrival."

Police Chief Carl Davis said during the Sunday news conference that an incident occurred inside the bar that led to the shootings outside.

At least three people were shot in addition to the three who died. One of the survivors was in critical condition, Davis said Sunday.

AT THE SCENE

Meanwhile, two of the six Youngstown police detectives working on the investigation were seen back in the neighborhood Monday afternoon continuing the investigation.

People living nearby said Monday the Torch Club bar has been open at that location about a year and has been creating more and more problems in the past couple of months for the generally quiet neighborhood.

"Definitely since it started getting nicer, it's been more rowdy around here," one man said. That's when patrons of the bar started parking on both sides of Elberen Street, creating issues for residents there.

"It went from parking issues and loud music to fights and now this," the man said, not wishing to identify himself.

The club has been drawing a crowd starting around 10:30 or 11 p.m. lasting until about 3 a.m., he said. People have been urinating in the street, he said.

He was one of several people who mentioned that gunshots entered the home just to the east of the bar and narrowly missed hitting a man sitting in a chair watching television.

"It's one thing if the drama and problems stay in there," he said of the bar, "but if it starts going into people's homes, that's a different monster."

He was one of several neighbors who said they heard the gunfire. He awoke to about 12 gunshots and figures there were a few before he woke up.

One woman said she saw Youngstown police officers in the area of the bar in the hours before the gunfire began but believes they left the area at some point before the gunshots began.

DOWNTOWN FIGHT

About 90 minutes before the shootings took place, officers were called to downtown Youngstown for a large crowd watching a fight in the middle of Commerce Street.

A police report states officers responded downtown at 12:40 a.m. for a crowd of about 200 people who were not cooperative with police. All officers working at the time responded to the fight. Officers deployed pepper spray that led to several members of the crowd and two officers being exposed to the chemical.

Two people who were arrested were taken to the police garage nearby to be treated by ambulance personnel for exposure to the chemicals.

Pierre R. Pardue, 23, of Parmelee Avenue, was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. A second man, whose identity is still in question, also was charged with disorderly conduct.

erunyan@vindy.com

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