Man killed in dispute over car

YOUNGSTOWN — A 31-year-old city man became the city’s 32nd homicide victim of 2006 on Saturday, apparently in a dispute involving a vehicle.

The death means the city’s homicide total for last year fell three below the 2005 total of 35.

Anthony Perez of 967 Plazaview Court was found face-down in the garage of a house at 612 Clearmont Ave., bloody and unresponsive around 10:30 p.m. and was later pronounced dead.

A man told police he and Perez were in the driveway of the Clearmont home, detailing a vehicle, when five men parked two cars in front of the home walked up the driveway.

One of the five started accusing the men of stealing the car they were working on.

The two men denied stealing the car, but two of the five pulled out weapons and started firing at Perez.

The second victim fled on foot through back yards and fired back at the men as he fell over a fence, he said.

He gave police the handgun, saying he had fired it three times in self-defense. The man was not injured.

Police found shell casings in and around the garage.

The man identified one of the suspects as black, between 20 and 30 years old, 6 feet-5 inches tall, 170 pounds. The other was described as black and about 20 years old.

Police have a suspect in the case but have made no arrests, said Detective Sgt. Doug Bobovnik.