Group offers 20k reward for info on Hubbard homicide

By Joe Gorman

jgorman@vindy.com

HUBBARD

A group of friends of a Hubbard man shot to death earlier this year has raised $14,000 to help Crime Stoppers find his killer.

The money raised by Justice For Cody increases the total award in the case to $20,000 for information leading to an arrest in the Cody Pitts homicide case.

Pitts, 26, was killed March 7 on Orchard Avenue.

Pam Kerola, one of the members of the group, said the extra money was raised through various fundraisers. The group Justice For Cody consists of several of his ex-Hubbard High School football teammates as well as their parents, Kerola said.

At first the group had $3,000 in donations, then that amount was doubled by two donors, but the group wanted more because they did not think that amount of money would garner good information, Kerola said.

“We wanted to do anything we could do to keep the case in the public eye,” Kerola said.

Kerola also said that anyone who calls in information will be kept anonymous. She said not even Crime Stoppers will know who made a call.

“You are strictly anonymous when you make that phone call,” Kerola said.

Pitts’ body was found in the street about 3:30 a.m. March 7, a Saturday.

The Trumbull County coroner ruled the death a homicide, and said that Pitts had died from a single gunshot wound to the head and neck.

It was the first homicide in Hubbard since the 1990s.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 330-746-2583.