Party turns deadly

A Niles man accused in a shooting death was released from prison in February.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Violence erupted on Wood Street on the near East Side, leaving a man dead.
On Wednesday morning, Timothy Wolfe, 29, of 24 1/2 Lafayette Ave., died of a bullet wound of the head suffered during an ongoing party that mixed drugs and alcohol with a handgun, police said.
The Trumbull County Coroner's Office ruled Wolfe's death a homicide.
Quentin "Q" Reese, 35, of 38 1/2 Wood, just across Robbins Avenue from Lafayette, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.
The Ohio Adult Parole Authority said Reese served six months of a one-year prison term at the North Coast Correctional Facility at Grafton after being convicted in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court for drug possession.
An authority spokesman said Reese served the term from Aug. 19, 2005, and was released Feb. 15. He was supposed to be spending the balance of the time establishing a residence and getting a job.
The spokesman said Reese was released to Oriana House, an Akron halfway facility. He was being monitored with an ankle bracelet.
Reese is being held in the Trumbull County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond. A preliminary hearing is scheduled in municipal court for 9:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Heavy partying
Police Capt. Chuck Wilson said that five or six people, including Reese and Wolfe, were involved in a party that began early Tuesday and went through Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
The party involved drugs and alcohol, and "it got carried away."
About 3:30 a.m., Wilson said, the city 911 center received a call alerting police of the shooting. The caller said a man had run from the scene.
Wolfe had suffered a gunshot would to the left side of the head and died at the scene, Wilson said. Police recovered a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol from the apartment.
Wilson said Reese showed up at the police station and gave a statement. He wouldn't say what Reese told him, though Wilson said the shooting might not have been intentional.
A neighbor, Kerstin Caudill, said there was a lot of partying going on at Reese's apartment. "Too much," she added.
Caudill said Reese lived in the apartment with his mother and Wolfe was visiting "like a lot of people do over there."
She described Reese as a "nice guy" who took her children out to play.
Previous death
Caudill was a friend of 21-year-old Erica Mechling, who lived at 133 Wood when she was gunned down by her ex-boyfriend July 21, 2004. Her body was found lying on her front yard.
Mechling's former boyfriend, James Fambro-Wade, 43, of Warren, was spotted by police in the neighborhood with a handgun.
Police Chief Bruce Simeone and Officer Chris Mannella opened fire when they felt threatened. Fambro-Wade died of his injuries.
yovich@vindy.com