43
Leavittsburg man says 'just screwing around' when shot cousin to death
By Ed Runyan
LEAVITTSBURG
Jesse A. Hayes, 15, a student at Parma High School, died Monday afternoon in Cleveland MetroHealth Hospital, where he had been flown for treatment of a shotgun wound to the head.
His mother, Jacki Sams of Cleveland, wrote on her Facebook page, “My world has been shattered. I don’t understand how this could happen.”
In another post, she said, “I will never understand why this happened to my baby, and I pray that justice for Jesse is done.”
Warren Township police said Hayes suffered a gunshot wound to the right front side of the face and head and was slightly breathing when police arrived at a relatives’ home at 205 Ruth Ave. here about 10:38 p.m. Saturday.
Thomas A. Catalde Jr., 28, who lives at the Ruth Avenue address, was “walking around the kitchen, very emotional, crying and stating that he did not mean to shoot him,” police said.
Police found a 12-gauge shotgun on the floor nearby.
“Thomas Catalde Jr. stated that he pointed a shotgun at his cousin, Jesse, pulled the trigger and shot him in the head. Thomas Jr. stated that he did not know the shotgun was loaded and was just screwing around,” a police report said.
“Thomas Jr. had stated that he had been drinking earlier but was not intoxicated.
Thomas Jr. gave a urine sample to police.
“Thomas Jr. advised that he had just bought the shotgun from his neighbor and just wanted to show Jesse the gun.”
Police said the shotgun had four live rounds and one spent round.
Hayes first was taken by ambulance to ValleyCare Trumbull Memorial Hospital and then flown by helicopter to Cleveland MetroHealth Hospital.
Three other people besides Hayes and Catalde were in the home at the time, including Catalde’s father, Thomas A. Catalde Sr., police said.
Everyone in the house was given a gunshot-residue test to determine if he or she had fired a weapon.
Warren Township Police Chief Don Bishop did not return a phone call Tuesday seeking comment, but said Monday that Catalde was tested for alcohol and/or drugs but he had not been taken into custody or charged in Hayes’ death.
Investigators with the Trumbull County Sheriff’s Office are assisting with the investigation.
Catalde Jr. was charged with aggravated vehicular assault, drunken driving and child endangering for an incident last New Year’s Eve on Homeview Drive in Leavittsburg in which Catalde was accused of running over another man with his car during an argument.
He pleaded guilty April 10 to a misdemeanor of having physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, was placed on one year’s probation and ordered to serve 15 days in the Warren Alternative Sentencing Program.