Parents of slain man offer reward in case

The gunman, dressed in a red hoodie, jumped a fence to get away.

By PATRICIA MEADE

VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — The parents of Damion J. Hill are offering a $5,000 reward to identify and bring his killer to justice.

The 30-year-old South Side man — known as “Dsco” (pronounced Dee-sco) by his friends — was shot at least three times inside his 1996 green Ford Explorer around 2 a.m. April 15. The SUV was parked in a small lot just south of Larry’s Lounge in the 2400 block of Hillman Street.

Capt. Kenneth Centorame, chief of detectives, said anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Greater Youngstown at (330) 746-CLUE. The callers can remain anonymous.

Centorame said the parents, mom and stepdad, “are willing to pay for answers” but beyond that they want to stay in the background. To build upon the $5,000 reward, donations can be made to the Damion Hill reward fund at any Key Bank branch.

“He had just left the club and got into his vehicle, the door was still open, when someone came up on him and fired multiple rounds,” said Detective Sgt. Ron Rodway, lead investigator on the case. “His cousin was with him but ducked, and the last thing he saw was a guy in a red hoodie.”

Rodway said there had been a fight inside Larry’s earlier that night but all indications were that Hill was not involved. The detective said it’s undetermined if the red-hoodie man had been in the bar, and the shooter may have been waiting outside for Hill to leave.

Not a random act

Centorame and Rodway said the shooting, right around the bar’s closing time, was not a random act — Hill was targeted. Killed by whom, and why, are still the questions.

Rodway has explored the usual motives, rival over a girlfriend, drug connection, retaliation. Nothing’s surfaced so far.

Rodway said Hill’s parents are aware of the way things are, that “snitching” is frowned upon by many in the community. Other witnesses may be afraid to come forward.

He described the parents as decent, hard-working people who acknowledge their son was no angel. No one should die that way, he said.

Hill wasn’t parked in the main lot behind Larry’s but just south of the bar in an “overflow” lot at a vacant business that can hold five or six vehicles. The gunman jumped a fence to make his getaway.

“With all those people at the bar, you’d think someone saw something,” Rodway said.

Centorame said the reward, hopefully, will encourage people to come forward with information, leads, gossip — whatever they have. He said some evidence gathered during the investigation is being withheld to match with a suspect, once one emerges.

meade@vindy.com