Officials scramble for answers as Youngstown ushers in violent new year

YOUNGSTOWN — The city may find itself in a new year, but after a violent holiday weekend, it faces an old problem.

From New Year's Eve through Jan. 2, shootings left two dead and at least two injured. That left city officials scrambling to explain the violence and the steps needed to curb it in the year ahead.

"I can't even speculate as to why we've had such a rough start to the year," 3rd Ward Councilwoman Samantha Turner said.

Victoria Allen, president of the ICU Block Watch on the South Side, has an answer: "There's no respect for life anymore," she said.

In a news conference Monday, Capt. Rob Foley, newly installed commander of the detective division, and Mayor Jamael Tito Brown asked for the public to assist with sharing information about recent cases:

• On Dec. 31, a woman was getting out of her car on West Warren Avenue when she was shot in the chest. She is expected to survive.
• Nine minutes after midnight on Jan. 1, police responded to a report of a homicide at the intersection of Glenwood Avenue and Almyra Avenue. The victim, who was identified as 30-year-old Van Lightning, was found dead when officers arrived.
• On Jan. 1, a man was shot in the back on Chestnut Hill Drive. He is also expected to survive.
• On Jan. 2 at about 2:30 p.m., the Youngstown Police Department responded to a two-car accident on Wirt Boulevard and Delaware Avenue. Officers discovered one of the drivers in the accident had been shot. YPD believes the man was shot and was driving to the hospital when he hit another vehicle. The victim, who was identified as 34-year-old John Pettiford, was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital but later died.

Foley said the police department does not believe these cases are related and there are currently no suspects. He noted there were 28 homicides in the city in 2020, which was an increase from 20 homicides in 2019.

Brown told Mahoning Matters the city is going to continue to find ways to reduce violence in the new year.

"I want to see people use alternative opportunities and instead of using gun violence as a way to solve disputes," Brown said.

Brown said his focus is on helping families and homes that have been affected by the pandemic, especially with people who are not working.

"Our goal in 2021 is really focused on the family," Brown said.

Foley said YPD Chief Robin Lees will put more directed patrols in areas around the city and look for other ways to reduce or eliminate the potential for shootings or homicides.

Rather than focusing on increased patrols, the department should emphasize officer engagement with the community, Allen said.

"Riding up and down the street does nothing," she said. "They need to get out and interact."

Community policing would be more effective if the officers patrolling the neighborhood also lived there, Allen added. The city should incentivize police officers to live in the communities they serve, she said.

Turner agrees.

"If your children and your mother's there, you're going to work extra hard," Turner said. "You're going to work extra smart, because your family needs to be protected just as much. I'm not saying that our police officers don't, but it definitely adds a little bit more when you know your babies are there."

First Ward Councilman Julius Oliver agrees that the city needs to do more to support its residents to prevent crime from taking root.

"If the environment continues to induce this type of behavior, then this behavior will continue," Oliver said.

To Allen, that means providing access to basic community amenities. For example, her South Side neighborhood needs a local grocery store, she said.

Having a place to buy groceries, pick up prescriptions and do banking would be convenient for her and her neighbors; it would also give the neighborhood something to be proud of, she said.

"Now people have an investment. 'Here, we have this grocery store. I'm not going to walk through the parking lot and throw this bag of trash out,'" she said.

Last year, Oliver took part in an in-person and virtual community event at Ohio Urban Renaissance, the former Buckeye Elks Youth Center, to discuss the increase in crime in the city. The meeting gave community members the chance to share their concerns on some of the bigger problems the city faces.

While plans for a follow-up meeting were put on hold due to concerns with the spike of the coronavirus cases in the city, Oliver said planning is now underway for a second session.

He said he wants the citizens of Youngstown to strive for excellence, ask for help and demand a plan of vision for the city from its leaders.

"The city of Youngstown [residents must] understand who they are," Oliver said. "They have to take pride in who they are and have to stop accepting mediocrity."

Brown said law enforcement needs assistance from community members with information regarding crime — and they can do so anonymously.

Crimestoppers Youngstown announced on its Facebook page that it would pay up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of suspects in the recent homicides.

Anyone with information about the homicides is asked to contact Crimestoppers at 330-746-CLUE or the police department at 330-742-8973.

— Reporter Jess Hardin contributed to this story.

This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 3:52 AM with the headline "Officials scramble for answers as Youngstown ushers in violent new year."