43
Leavittsburg man faces murder charges in motorcycle club shootings
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
David H. Bailes Jr., 45, of Kale Adams Road, Leavittsburg, is charged with two counts of murder, accused of fatally shooting two men from another motorcycle club in the head in the parking lot of Shorty’s Place bar on Highland Avenue in Warren Township.
Bailes and two other men suffered gunshot wounds.
Police filed the charges against Bailes on Sunday in Warren Municipal Court. No arraignment hearing has been scheduled, as he is apparently still hospitalized.
A police report says Bailes is president of the FTW Motorcycle Club and was the only member of that club who was injured. The two men killed and the two others are members of the Brothers Regime club. Both clubs are of Warren.
The two who died are Robert A. Marto, 54, of Phillips Rice Road, Cortland; and Jason C. Moore, 41, of Morrell Ray Road, Bristolville. The other two who were injured are Andrew G. Claypool, 50, of Rose Avenue, Girard; and Walter M. Hughes, 41, of Kenilworth Avenue Southeast.
A news release issued Monday by the Warren Township Police Department says police found two males on the ground in the northeast section of the bar’s parking lot at 12:32 p.m. Saturday with apparent gunshot wounds. They also found two more victims in the south lot with apparent gunshot wounds.
A local hospital told police that another victim had been taken to the hospital and was being flown to a Cleveland hospital.
A witness told police Bailes was seen buying other members of the FTW drinks, and a few minutes later, Bailes and members of the Brothers Regime were seen arguing in the front doorway and gunshots rang out soon afterward.
When police arrived, people were “running in all directions,” according to a report. Several weapons were recovered as well as spent shell casings “all over the entire parking lot,” the news release said.
Township Police Chief Don Bishop said earlier Monday that the various investigators had received cooperation from the 50 to 60 witnesses police encountered when they arrived at the shooting.
“We are getting some cooperation. We’re getting there,” Bishop said of the investigation into how the men were killed and injured.
Besides the two killed and three injured, there are indications that others also may have been hit by the gunfire because of reports of people seeking medical supplies, Bishop said.
The gunfire erupted at 12:25 p.m. after an argument between two clubs, police said Saturday. One of the groups was there to plan a Father’s Day poker run, police said.
Three Warren city police detectives spent between six and 17 hours each helping with the Shorty’s investigation, according to Warren police records.
Warren police also were notified to be on the lookout for motorcyclists heading into Warren from Highland Avenue just after the Shorty’s shooting and to use caution if they encounter them. Four Warren patrol officers assisted with the incident for between 27 minutes and six hours.
The bar is about a half mile south of the Warren city limits and a short distance from the J&L Lounge, also on Highland Avenue Southwest in Warren Township, where James E. Dotson Jr., 33, of Perkinswood Boulevard Southeast and Syme Street in Masury was shot to death early April 4. No arrests have been made in that case.
An investigator with the Warren Police Department will be the lead investigator, Bishop said of the Shorty’s shootings. Also helping is the Trumbull County Homicide Task Force. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting with collection of physical evidence.
Shorty’s Place does not have a reputation for trouble, Bishop said.