CRIME Homicide toll in city rises to 6 in March

A 28-year-old man was fatally shot early Sunday.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Cortland R. Brown was shot to death as he waited for a parking spot at The Aristocrat, where a Rapfest 2005 after-party was under way.
Police found Brown, 28, of Willis Avenue, around 2:45 a.m. Sunday, slumped in the driver's seat of a 1996 blue Thunderbird. Shot in the arms and midsection, he was dead at the scene in the rear lot of the private hall at 571 Francisca Ave.
The sound of gunfire and glass breaking sent his passenger scrambling for safety. The friend later circled back to talk to detectives.
The unidentified suspect was last seen running to a car and then peeling out, heading south on Catalina Avenue.
To preserve the crime scene, the first officers to arrive had to clear out 200-plus cars from the parking lot and establish crowd control for an estimated 500 people. Broken glass from the Thunderbird's driver's side window and three casings were found in the northeast corner of the lot.
The Thunderbird, still in gear, had coasted into a gold Lexus.
After-party
Fliers advertising the after-party at The Aristocrat were passed out to those who attended Rapfest 2005 at Powers Auditorium, 260 Federal Plaza West downtown. The event ended at 11 p.m. Saturday.
Police were expected to determine today who rented The Aristocrat for the after-party and what kind of security, if any, was hired for the event.
Brown is the city's ninth homicide victim of the year and the sixth this month. At this time last year, the city had recorded six slayings.
In November 2004, fliers advertising The Aristocrat caught the attention of police, who raided the jampacked hall Thanksgiving night, seized the liquor and cited Jairus Ford of Greely Lane for operating without a liquor permit. He received six months' probation.
Ford acknowledged to police that he had no permits for the party, and they explained the city's ordinance. The party was open to the public, no liquor permit had been obtained and money was collected at the door.