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Passenger didn’t know friend was shot
By Ed Runyan
NILES
A female friend was in the passenger seat when Britney Mazanec, 33, tried to drive away from the Hideaway Lounge and “passed out” early Sunday.
There had been a dispute between the friend and another female before that.
The friend, 29, of Niles, called 911 at 2:15 a.m., saying Mazanec, also of Niles, was unconscious after someone “smashed out” the passenger-side window of their car.
The friend apparently didn’t know Mazanec had been hit by gunfire and was mortally wounded.
About 100 grieving and shocked friends turned out in frigid temperatures Wednesday night for a vigil outside the Hideaway, on Youngstown Road near Eastwood Mall, to remember the woman they all described as warm and caring.
“Britney was a beautiful person who was always trying to put a smile on peoples’ faces,” said her father, Greg Stone of Niles. “This is tough to deal with,” he said, holding back his emotions.
“I thought it was a bad joke when I found out she had been killed. My sister was loved by everybody,” said her brother, Jeff, 29, of Warren.
“We graduated together from Niles McKinley High School in 2004, and our kids are the same ages,” said Melissa Misier. “She was a really great mom and was friends with everybody. I’m heartbroken and shocked.”
“When her brother called me and told me what had happened, it was hard to believe. We all grew up together,” said Jimmy Connor of Niles. “I’m here to pay my respects to Britney and my buddy,” Connor said.
“We thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” said Mazanec’s mother, Tammy Stone, to those who attended the vigil, which was organized by Mazanec’s sister, Cristine, and ended with a release of purple balloons as the crowd shouted, “We love you, Britney.”
Outside of court Monday, family members said Mazanec was the mother of children age 4 and 6, and manager of Classy Clean Car Wash and gas station on Youngstown-Warren Road.
When the shooting occurred at 2:15 a.m. Sunday in front of the Hideaway, her friend in the car didn’t sound anxious until just after she told a 911 operator she could see blood coming from Mazanec’s mouth and nose.
“They punched our window out,” the friend said. “We were trying to get away from them, and she passed out.”
A short time into the 911 call, the friend started to sound scared. “Britney, Britney,” she said. She asked the 911 operator to “Please hurry up,” and then said, “I don’t think she’s breathing.”
The operator asked whether anything had struck Mazanec, and the friend said no. The friend was hit by flying glass, not Mazanec, she said.
Mazanec was later pronounced dead at a hospital. She died from a gunshot wound, though autopsy results are not yet available, the county coroner’s office said.
The dispatcher had tried to find out more about the person who smashed the window, but the friend said she didn’t know where he went. By the end of the call, the friend had identified one man involved as Ryan Daniels, whom she knew from Facebook as “Smoke.”
Ryan M. Daniels Sr., 28, of Hunter Street Northwest in Warren, was later charged in Mazanec’s death and was arraigned Monday in Niles Municipal Court on reckless homicide, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Judge Chris Shaker of Niles Municipal Court set Daniels’ bond at $1 million, with a second hearing at 9:15 a.m. Monday. He remains in the Trumbull County jail.
Niles police released the 911 call recording and initial police report Wednesday after a Vindicator public records request that was emailed and hand-delivered to the Niles prosecutor and police department that morning.
When the friend was asked what led to the window being smashed out, she said it was because “this chick was trying to bite me because I told her I didn’t want no beef with her.” She said it led to individuals, including Daniels, standing outside their car.
She repeatedly gave the name of a group she said is part of a motorcycle club as being responsible for the incident. When she told that to a Niles police officer, he said he was not familiar with the group.
The friend told an officer she knew Daniels’ real name because she had just communicated with him on Facebook. The friend went to the police station and gave officers a written statement after officers put her in a cruiser to get her out of the rain.
The police report indicates that at least two other people, both of Warren, gave police statements.
The report contains little new information except that police were called to the Hideaway for a “possible medical emergency.” While officers were there, “it was discovered that [Mazanec] had a hole in her shirt.”
Mementos have been placed near the Hideaway sign. A message was added to the sign, saying, “We love you, Britney.”
Contributor: Vindicator reporter William K. Alkorn