Thursday, October 28, 2004
Police declined to say what type of gun was used in the shooting.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Township police are hoping a partial fingerprint on a shell casing may help pinpoint who fired several shots at a van outside a bar.
The casing will be sent to the state Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation lab, said Lt. Don Bishop.
"It's a pretty good fingerprint, so we're hoping we may get a lead," Bishop said.
Police declined to say what type of gun was used in the shooting.
What happened
Someone opened fire on a van driven by Mark A. Dukes, 27, of Van Wye Street, Warren, around 1 a.m. Wednesday. Police said the van, which was in the parking lot of the American Legion on Bane Street, was hit nine times.
Dukes was shot twice, once in the hip and once in the buttocks. He was taken to St. Joseph Health Center and was in stable condition.
Stephanie Dean, 30, of Southwest Boulevard, a passenger in the van, was grazed with a bullet and treated at Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital.
No arrests have been made.
Dukes told police that he pulled into the parking lot and saw someone there who didn't like him. Dukes said he was pulling out of the lot when his van was hit with nine bullets, though 10 shots were fired.
According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, Dukes was released from prison in May 2003 after serving a two-year sentence for assault.
Second shooting
This is the second shooting at the American Legion this year. Bishop said there was a shooting in July involving two females.
According to the state Department of Liquor Control, the American Legion lost its liquor license on April 21 because it was delinquent on taxes.
"It was about six weeks ago when we heard that they had lost their license," Bishop said. "We were being told they were still operating. We tried calling liquor control to get some agents out here, but every time they were going to set something up, the place was not open."
Bishop and Police Chief Thomas Rush said that when they went to the American Legion after the shooting they were told that alcohol was being served.
"Since they don't have a permit, they can't be serving, so we confiscated the money they had, which was about $500," Bishop said. He noted that he also contacted state liquor control agents.
sinkovich@vindy.com