An ax, gun and vest — but who’ll be charged?

A witness across the street saw a man fire from the porch.

By PATRICIA MEADE

VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — Dennis Pixley — hospitalized after being shot and axed at 3411 Belden Ave. — denies the home invasion story a father and son described to police.

Pixley, 18, of Woodcrest Avenue, was in critical condition late Tuesday in St. Elizabeth Health Center.

Forrest Adams, 38, and his son, Galen Hobdy, 13, told police that Pixley forced his way in with a gun around 11 p.m. Monday. Adams told police he used a ceremonial ax on Pixley, and Galen shot the intruder.

“We’re trying to clarify the relationship between Adams and Pixley. There’s so much physical evidence and so many stories to sort out,” said Capt. Kenneth Centorame, chief of detectives.

“Pixley said he was invited in, said he is a friend of the father,” Centorame said Tuesday afternoon. “I don’t know if that’s true or not. It seems the son did fire the shot that hit Pixley.”

Centorame said Pixley is painting himself as the victim. “This is not clear cut, a lot of smoke in the air. It’s too early to say if charges will be filed. We don’t have a motive yet.”

“I don’t know that boy from Adam. I’m 38 years old. I don’t deal with 18-year-olds,” Adams told a Vindicator reporter Tuesday evening. “Somebody had to be waiting for him.”

Reports show Pixley was slammed into walls, bumped his head on a banister as he tumbled down steps, got slashed with the ax and then bounced down more steps before being shot. He ran to a waiting car. A woman dropped him off at the hospital.

Across the street, a teenage girl visiting her grandmother told police that she heard two gunshots come from 3411 Belden Ave. She then saw a man run out the front door to the rear of a nearby vacant house.

The girl then saw another man on the porch scream, “Where’s my [expletive] money?” and fire one shot at the fleeing man. She believes the man who fired from the porch then went back into the house.

Adams said the gun was fired only in the house and then it jammed. “I didn’t fire from the porch,” he said.

Adams added his son lives in Akron, and the boy’s mother came and took him back there after interviews with detectives Tuesday afternoon.

“I almost lost a couple of fingers,” Adams said. “I defended this home.”

Adams’ account

Here’s what Patrolman Bill Burton said Adams told him:

A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest and a bandanna to cover his face surprised Galen and Adams on the porch when they arrived home and forced them to open the door.

The intruder screamed that he wanted all their money, threatened them with the gun and said, “Don’t [expletive] with me. I do this for a living.”

Adams and his son were told to strip to their underwear before being marched into the dining room and ordered to lie on the floor.

When Adams told the intruder he had no money, the suspect fired one round into the floor and then yelled: “Don’t [expletive] with me — I will shoot your kid!”

The intruder, later identified as Pixley, then ordered Adams and his son upstairs and into a bedroom. While they sat on the bed, Pixley rummaged through the room, finding nothing.

In the hallway, Pixley opened a closet and while foraging inside lowered his weapon. Adams grabbed the gun and yelled for his son to go downstairs as he slammed Pixley into the wall.

During the struggle, Pixley fired one shot before falling down the stairs, hitting his head on the bannister and dropping the gun.

Adams followed, grabbing a wall-mounted ceremonial ax from the living room.

In the kitchen, Pixley tried to go out a side door, but it was locked. He turned and rushed Adams and the two struggled for the ax and both fell into the basement.

During the struggle in the basement, Pixley’s bulletproof vest and bandanna came off. Adams and the intruder ended up back in the kitchen, where Pixley grabbed a knife and tried to stab Adams in the chest but the knife bent.

Adams then swung the ax at Pixley, penetrating his shoulder and chest area. Pixley staggered back, reached for a larger kitchen knife and used it to slice Adams’ hand.

Galen, meanwhile, pointed a pellet gun at the intruder tussling with his father. Adams, losing his footing and grip on the ax, screamed for his son to go find the real gun. Galen found it on the stairs.

Adams then shouted to his son to shoot the intruder. Galen waited for his father to move out of the way before he fired, hitting Pixley in the torso area. The gun then jammed.

Pixley ran toward the living room, with Adams right behind. Pixley lobbed a vase at Adams. It smashed the coffee table. Pixley then grabbed a large liquor bottle to fight off the ax-wielding homeowner.

Pixley ran out. Adams saw the intruder run toward the rear of a vacant house and then saw a light-colored Chevrolet pull away.

“I ran to the front porch and saw a white car parked on the side take off like a bat out of hell,” said 72-year-old Frances Yaksic, who lives across the street. “The guy in the white T-shirt [who ran] didn’t look injured, but Forrest told me he hit the guy with an ax.”

meade@vindy.com