The shooting happened after a Youngstown man was kicked out of a Stewart Avenue house.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — Two Youngstown men are in the Mahoning County jail after a 3-year-old city girl was shot in the head during a drive-by on the East Side.
Charged with felonious assault are Damon K. Clark, 22, of Dogwood Lane, and Stoney Williams, 18, of Dorothy Avenue. Williams, who police say was the shooter, also faces a charge of shooting into a habitation.
Clark and two friends were asked to leave a Stewart Avenue house shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday by his cousin because the three were drunk, according to a police report.
The man who kicked the three out of the house was outside about 11:08 p.m. with a female cousin, his aunt and the aunt's 3-year-old niece, Cherish M. Moreland, of Hilton Avenue, when Clark drove by in a Buick LeSabre, according to police reports.
The adults outside the Stewart Avenue home told police they heard yelling when they saw the car. A man in the car's passenger seat, later identified as Williams, leaned out the window and fired two shots at the people, police said.
Struck by bullet
One of the bullets hit Cherish on the right side of her head and exited through the left side of her head with the impact causing her aunt to drop her into the grass in front of the house, police reports state.
When police arrived, they saw the girl bleeding from the head and crying. An officer applied pressure to the girl's head wounds until an ambulance arrived.
Those on the porch immediately identified the driver as Clark, police said.
Cherish's condition wasn't released as of late Sunday. She was initially taken to the St. Elizabeth Health Center and then to the Akron Children's Hospital. Akron Children's staff said Sunday they had no record of Cherish at that hospital. St. Elizabeth staff say they are positive the girl was taken to the Akron hospital.
It isn't known if Cherish and Clark are related. The man who kicked Clark out of the Stewart Avenue house told police that the suspect and the victim are his cousins.
While officers were still at the house, Clark and the two others who left the East Side house after the dispute arrived at the home, and several witnesses told police the three were the suspects in the shooting.
The three were questioned at the Youngstown police station. Through interviews and witness testimony, police determined Clark was driving the car during the shooting and the other two weren't involved. The other two were released. It was also determined during the investigation that Williams was the shooter, police said.
Police said that while the three were being questioned, Williams came to the police station to speak to detectives about the shooting.
Williams took officers to what he said was the location of the gun used in the shooting, a wooded area off Albert Street near the Madison Avenue Expressway, police said. The gun wasn't found.
Clark and Williams were in the Mahoning County jail Sunday pending arraignments in Youngstown Municipal Court.
skolnick@vindy.com
Monday, May 7, 2007
The shooting happened after a Youngstown man was kicked out of a Stewart Avenue house.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — Two Youngstown men are in the Mahoning County jail after a 3-year-old city girl was shot in the head during a drive-by on the East Side.
Charged with felonious assault are Damon K. Clark, 22, of Dogwood Lane, and Stoney Williams, 18, of Dorothy Avenue. Williams, who police say was the shooter, also faces a charge of shooting into a habitation.
Clark and two friends were asked to leave a Stewart Avenue house shortly before 11 p.m. Saturday by his cousin because the three were drunk, according to a police report.
The man who kicked the three out of the house was outside about 11:08 p.m. with a female cousin, his aunt and the aunt's 3-year-old niece, Cherish M. Moreland, of Hilton Avenue, when Clark drove by in a Buick LeSabre, according to police reports.
The adults outside the Stewart Avenue home told police they heard yelling when they saw the car. A man in the car's passenger seat, later identified as Williams, leaned out the window and fired two shots at the people, police said.
Struck by bullet
One of the bullets hit Cherish on the right side of her head and exited through the left side of her head with the impact causing her aunt to drop her into the grass in front of the house, police reports state.
When police arrived, they saw the girl bleeding from the head and crying. An officer applied pressure to the girl's head wounds until an ambulance arrived.
Those on the porch immediately identified the driver as Clark, police said.
Cherish's condition wasn't released as of late Sunday. She was initially taken to the St. Elizabeth Health Center and then to the Akron Children's Hospital. Akron Children's staff said Sunday they had no record of Cherish at that hospital. St. Elizabeth staff say they are positive the girl was taken to the Akron hospital.
It isn't known if Cherish and Clark are related. The man who kicked Clark out of the Stewart Avenue house told police that the suspect and the victim are his cousins.
While officers were still at the house, Clark and the two others who left the East Side house after the dispute arrived at the home, and several witnesses told police the three were the suspects in the shooting.
The three were questioned at the Youngstown police station. Through interviews and witness testimony, police determined Clark was driving the car during the shooting and the other two weren't involved. The other two were released. It was also determined during the investigation that Williams was the shooter, police said.
Police said that while the three were being questioned, Williams came to the police station to speak to detectives about the shooting.
Williams took officers to what he said was the location of the gun used in the shooting, a wooded area off Albert Street near the Madison Avenue Expressway, police said. The gun wasn't found.
Clark and Williams were in the Mahoning County jail Sunday pending arraignments in Youngstown Municipal Court.
skolnick@vindy.com
Monday, May 7, 2007
Two Youngstown men are in the Mahoning County jail after a 3-year-old city girl was shot in the head during a drive-by...
