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S. Side logs 6th killing in 5 weeks
YOUNGSTOWN
A man who escaped death after a shooting a year ago was found dead Friday in the parking lot of a South Side bar.
Jerome G. Miller, 22, of Overland Avenue, died from a single gunshot to the head about 2 a.m. in the parking lot of the Coconut Grove, 3229 South Ave., police said.
Miller, who also went by the nickname “Noodle,” was found semiconscious Oct. 10, 2010, at a Glenwood Avenue apartment complex suffering from gunshot wounds in his face and abdomen. Covey K. Salinas of Madison Avenue pleaded guilty in that shooting and was sentenced to 21/2 years in prison.
Friday morning, Youngstown police received a call about a man being shot at the Coconut Grove, said Capt. Mark Milstead. Police arrived on scene at about 1:55 a.m. as the bar was closing and saw about a dozen people in the parking lot.
Miller’s friends and family identified him at the scene and said the slain man frequently ordered food from the establishment, according to reports.
Tamara Sharpe, 33, was shot in the arm during the incident that left Miller dead. Milstead said she was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center by a private car and is in stable condition.
Sharpe is the aunt of Tequon J. Sharpe, 20, who was killed Oct. 8. Tequon was found with a gunshot wound to the left side of his head at an apartment at 59 E. Judson St., where he had lived for just a week. His 10-month-old daughter was near his body, but unharmed, authorities said.
Tequon’s mother, Tonya Sharpe of Columbus, was also at the scene and told police that she and another family member went outside the bar with Tamara because Tamara wanted to smoke a cigarette, reports state.
Tonya told police that she heard “three pops” and then Tamara yelling “I’ve been hit,” police said.
Miller was a person of interest in Tequon’s murder but never named as a suspect, Milstead said, adding police are still investigating that murder. Miller was arrested in December 2010 on a charge of aggravated trespassing and again on a charge of receiving stolen property in August.
This is the 17th homicide recorded in the city in 2011, compared to 18 at this time last year. It also is the sixth homicide on the South Side in the past five weeks.
Anyone with information about Miller’s murder is asked to call Youngstown police at 330-742-8911 or anonymously at 330-746-CLUE.
This also is the second shooting reported at the Coconut Grove this year. In August, a 20-year-old Campbell man was shot in the leg.
When police arrived, they were met by a hostile crowd.