YOUNGSTOWN Firefighters discover body in trunk of burned-out vehicle on East Side

A neighbor said he heard muffled sounds of 'pop, pop, pop.'
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A unidentified man bound at the ankles with tape was found early today, dead in the trunk of a burned-out car on the East Side.
The car, a 1994 light blue Oldsmobile 88, is registered to a 23-year-old West Indianola Avenue man. The car was not listed as stolen.
Police were called to the dead end of Vaughn Avenue, the 2200 block, about 1 a.m. by firefighters who had extinguished the car fire and discovered the body when they pried open the trunk. A fire department captain also found a handgun in the roadway, about four feet from the car.
Patrolman Kerry Wigley described the victim, whose face was covered with cloth, as a black man, wearing a partially burned white T-shirt with National Basketball Association colorful team logos on it -- Cavs, Bucs and Bulls. The victim also had on gym shorts under blue or gray sweat pants and red sneakers.
Testing for accelerant
Fire Capt. Alvin Ware said today that the fire started on the passenger side of the Oldsmobile and "totaled" the car.
He said tests would be done to determine whether an accelerant, such as gasoline, was used. An accelerant-sniffing dog will be borrowed from either the state or Champion Fire Department, Ware said.
Ware said it's "standard operating procedure" to open the trunk of a burned car -- especially in isolated areas of the city's East Side. Vaughn Avenue, he said, has few houses.
One resident told police someone knocked on his door just before 1 a.m. but when he went to answer the knock, no one was there. He then noticed the burning car and called 911.
Another witness told police he heard "pop, pop, pop" and called police. The sounds were muffled, as if they'd come from inside the car.
By 3 a.m., homicide detectives, a crime lab officer and a Mahoning County coroner's investigator had converged on the usually quiet neighborhood. The victim's bound feet were seen when he was lifted out and taken to the morgue.
Police also noticed what appeared to be a possible exit wound from a shot to the back of the head.
14th homicide this year
The homicide is the city's 14th this year and the first since July 27.
At this time last year, the city had recorded 28 homicides and ended the year with 33.
The death last December of a 43-year-old woman found shot in the head in the trunk of a burned-out Lincoln -- also on the East Side -- was ruled a homicide that had taken place in Columbus.
meade@vindy.com