Slaying of clerk brings shock, grief

The robbery is similar to one at Advanced Auto Parts on April 18.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Edward Agee's loving family gathered in shock and grief as homicide detectives delved into the store clerk's killing.
"We loved him," said 66-year-old Rose Cappitte outside her son-in-law's Star Street home. "He leaves four grandkids, one on the way and a sick wife."
An armed robber who entered The Auto Zone on McCartney Road on the East Side shot Agee in the head at 8:50 p.m. Tuesday. Police found the 52-year-old store clerk lying on his back in front of a sales counter.
"He was a good man," said Robert Cappitte, a brother-in-law. "He wasn't supposed to go that way."
Kelly Howe, 24, Agee's only daughter, said her father helped everyone -- and oh, how he loved race cars. He loved his grandkids, but race cars ranked next, she said.
A steady stream of family and friends visited the Agee house Wednesday. His family included wife Rose Agee, 48, and two sons, ages 26 and 30.
"They shot him in the head!" his grief-stricken wife cried from the front porch. She was gently led back inside.
Rose Cappitte, seeing her daughter's tears, shook her head.
"He was her backbone. If she was at the hospital for 20 hours, he was there for 20 hours," Rose Cappitte said, noting her daughter has kidney problems. "They were married 25 years."
What happened
The Auto Zone store on McCartney was closed Wednesday, and brown paper covered the windows. Signs directed patrons to other Auto Zones.
Detective Sgt. Patrick Kelly said three young men entered Auto Zone in a robbery attempt.
It appears Agee, unarmed, may have physically confronted the suspect who shot him, Kelly said. Reports show another clerk and a customer were in the store at the time.
Detective Sgt. Rick Alli is asking that anyone who may have witnessed the getaway to call (330) 742-8950 or 911.
Alli said it's not worth it to confront an armed robber -- they have the upper hand. "Give up the money. Safety should be your primary concern," he said.
Kelly said the shooting death takes the recent upsurge in armed robberies "to another level."
Detectives' records show 35 aggravated robberies from January through the end of March. Roughly another 10 occurred in April, according to Vindicator files.
A robbery April 18 at Advanced Auto Parts on East Midlothian Boulevard is similar to the Tuesday night crime at Auto Zone.
"We're certainly looking into the similarities," Capt. Kenneth Centorame, chief of detectives, said Wednesday.
Long list of robberies
Vindicator files show that armed robberies increased on the South Side and merited extra police patrols as 2005 came to a close. Records for November and December show holdups occurred at a variety of businesses or in their parking lots. Included in the victim list were convenience and discount stores, pizza shops, gas stations, bars and fast-food restaurants.
The Southside License Bureau on Market Street was robbed twice in November, likely by the same three masked suspects both times, police said. The owner opened fire the second time with a .357-caliber Magnum. The robbers returned fire; no one was injured.
On the West Side, masked gunmen robbed First American Cash Advance on Mahoning Avenue twice in November, and a lone robber hit the Medicine Shoppe, also on Mahoning. The Valley Service Center on Mahoning and Subway on Canfield Road were held up at the end of October, as was Cherol's Market on Salt Springs Road, records show.
On the North Side, the Family Dollar Store on Belmont was robbed a few days after Thanksgiving by a man wearing a yellow and black ski mask. It was robbed again in early December by a man wearing a dark-blue ski mask, police said.
meade@vindy.com