Bond set in Wilson Avenue murder case

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Bond was set by Judge Elizabeth Kobly in municipal court Wednesday for two men accused in a shooting death late Monday on Wilson Avenue.

Bond is $1 million each for Earl Charity, 32, and Juan Phillips, 34.

Both are charged with aggravated murder. They were arrested after police responded to a call of gunfire about 11:30 p.m. Monday and found a man dead, shot several times in the doorway of a garage in the 900 block of Wilson.

Police and coroner’s investigators are still working to confirm the identity of the victim. They said he is from out of town.

Charity has already served a six-year prison sentence for a 2009 shooting death on the North Side that ran concurrent with a seven-year sentence he received for shooting up a house in 2010.

Officers responded to Wilson Avenue for a call of gunfire and arrested Charity and Phillips at the garage where the victim was found lying in the doorway with multiple gunshot wounds to his legs and body.

Police Chief Robin Lees said detectives have some leads in the shooting death of Brandon Wylie, 30, who was found shot to death shortly after midnight Tuesday in a courtyard on Plazaview Court.

Detectives on Wednesday also released surveillance video from the apartment complex on Plazaview showing Wylie walking on a sidewalk there and two other men who then shoot him. Police are looking for anyone who may know who the men are. If anyone has information they can call 911, 330-742-8950 or 330-742-8911, which is the Detective Bureau.

Youngstown now has six homicides for 2018. Last year, the city had 26 homicides and eight at this point of the year.