MILL CREEK PARK Routine check turns up a body

Park police will consult with city police to investigate the victim's background.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mill Creek MetroParks has its first homicide in 41/2 years.
The body of Archie Stanford, 44, of the city's South Side, was found at 7:39 p.m. Tuesday during a routine check of the lower Bears Den parking lot, said parks Police Chief Nathaniel Pinkard. Stanford had gunshot wounds to his legs, the chief said.
"In our preliminary investigation, it appears he may have been dumped there, judging by the amount of blood and position of the body" Pinkard said today. "It's difficult to say how long the body had been there."
The chief said the parking lot had been checked around 5 p.m. and nothing was amiss. Park officers make random checks of all parking lots.
The time between when the lot was last checked and when the body was discovered at least pinpoints the time frame of the crime, Pinkard said.
There's no indication that Stanford was robbed, Pinkard said. More will be known after an autopsy, he said.
Investigation
MetroParks Lt. Bruce Emery was to conduct interviews today, trying to determine where Stanford was last seen. As part of the investigation, he will consult with city police.
Stanford, who lived in the Parkwood Avenue area, was identified by an elderly relative last night, Pinkard said.
Youngstown Patrolman John Patton, a crime lab officer, was called to the crime scene Tuesday night to take photographs. He, too, said it was difficult to determine how long the body, found face down, had been in the picnic area.
Youngstown has had 33 homicides so far this year. Stanford's death is the park's first homicide in 41/2 years.
Pinkard said the park hasn't had a homicide since 1998. That crime, he said, also involved a dumped body.
On May 7, 1998, Wesley Moore, 15 Cohasset Drive, was found in a Parkview Avenue field across from Idora Park near the Mill Creek Park entrance. He had a bullet wound to the head.
Police estimated he could have been there at least two days. He was found by children taking a shortcut through the park.
meade@vindy.com