YOUNGSTOWN YSU freshman shot to death in Cleveland

By PETER H. MILLIKEN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Doug Rias was an outgoing person whose goals were to play basketball at Youngstown State University, graduate from college and establish his own automobile service business.
But his dreams were snuffed out at age 19 when he was shot to death on Cleveland's East Side after leaving a Christmas party.
Cleveland police are investigating the death of the YSU freshman and former Bedford High School basketball standout, who aspired to join YSU's basketball team next year.
"A blessed child, very spiritual, loving, caring about others, very outgoing, always giving," were the words his sister, Cherese, used to describe him. He enjoyed attending church, spending time with his family and tinkering with cars, she said.
She said her brother had planned to join the YSU basketball team as a sophomore. He had planned to wait a year before joining the team because he was following his mother's advice to get good grades first and play basketball later, his sister said.
Rias died early Thursday in MetroHealth Medical Center after having been shot several times while stopped at a traffic light at Harvard Avenue and East 131st Street. He drove one additional block before crashing into a pole.
His passenger, Nikon Bell, 19, was shot once in his back and was hospitalized in stable condition at MetroHealth Friday night.
What happened
Police haven't established a motive for the shooting, in which a man jumped from a car that had pulled alongside Rias and fired several times.
Rias enrolled as a freshman with an undeclared major at YSU in the fall semester, which ended earlier this month, said Walt Ulbricht, the university's executive director for marketing and communications. Ulbricht said Rias hadn't made contact with the coaching staff of the university basketball team.
"We extend our greatest sympathy to Doug's family," Ulbricht said Friday.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at New Spirit Revival Center, 3130 Mayfield Road, Cleveland Heights, where Rias was a member.
Friends may call from noon to 9 p.m. Sunday at Gaines Funeral Home, 9116 Union Ave., Cleveland, and from 10:30 to 11 a.m. Monday at the revival center. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery, Bedford Heights.
milliken@vindy.com