YPD seeks brother in bloody street shooting

The victim yelled that he was dead as the gunman kept firing, a witness said.

By TIM YOVICH

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — After a blaze of gunfire, a seriously wounded man was rushed to the hospital — and neighbors pulled out their garden hoses to flush blood down the gutter.

That was the scene Wednesday morning on South Truesdale Avenue on the East Side, after Robert “Poke” Peoples, 44, of East Cleveland, was gunned down.

Peoples was in St. Elizabeth Health Center where he underwent surgery. A hospital spokeswoman said he was in critical condition late Wednesday.

Police at the scene said Peoples was critically injured, having been shot several times.

Detective Sgts. John Kelty and Ramon Cox obtained a warrant Wednesday afternoon charging Peoples’ brother, Anthony Peoples, 40, of Atkinson Avenue, with felonious assault and aggravated burglary.

Kelty said Anthony and Robert Peoples had been involved in a family dispute. The shooting started at 1531⁄2 S. Truesdale, Kelty said, when Anthony Peoples forced his way into the house and opened fire.

Robert Peoples got free after jumping through a second-floor window, but his brother kept pursuing him and continued firing.

Robert Peoples ended up on the ground in front of 169 S. Truesdale. He had stayed the night at 1531⁄2 S. Truesdale.

A man who declined to provide his name said he and his girlfriend were living at 1531⁄2 S. Truesdale. The man said he heard someone kick in the front door and start shooting.

What neighbor saw

A neighbor, who for fear of reprisal also didn’t want to be identified, described the gunman as about 6 feet tall and slender, wearing black pants and a black cap with a kangaroo logo.

She said the gunman pulled up to the curb in a white van and was carrying a handgun that hung loose along his right leg. She heard shots and then saw the gunman get back into the van and leave.

“I’ll be back,” the gunman yelled.

He returned a short time later. The neighbor didn’t notice the van this time.

“Stop it!” the neighbor said she screamed as the gunman fired several shots, and Robert Peoples rolled down the sidewalk toward her home.

“I’m dead! I’m dead!” she said Robert Peoples yelled at the gunman.

The neighbor went back into her house and called 911. She didn’t know how the gunman left the neighborhood.

Police said they found several spent shells along the shooting route, a small semiautomatic pistol and crack cocaine.

This was the second shooting in the neighborhood in two days.

About 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, Robert Peoples reported his car being shot up in the 100 block of South Truesdale. According to the police report, Peoples identified the suspects who fired at him as members of his own family.