Man shot in the back during Facebook meetup, according to Youngstown police reports
At 8 p.m. Tuesday, a man was dropped off at Mercy Health Boardman Hospital with severe gunshots wounds and is currently in stable condition.
According to Youngstown Police reports, Rosco Pearce was shot in the back while meeting with a man named “Mike,” later identified as Keith Tillis.
“Mike,” who contacted him via Facebook, picked Pearce up on the westside of Youngstown on Tuesday.
Pearce was going to customize Mike’s gray Cadillac by installing a music system for a fee.
Pearce sat in the back while a juvenile was seated in the passenger seat.
Mike drove from Pearce’s house to the area of Rush Boulevard and Lucius Avenue.
That was when an unknown gunman started shooting at the car, hitting Pearce in his back.
According to Pearce, he asked Mike to take him to the emergency room since he’d just been shot.
Pearce said Mike told him, “I can’t take you there, but I can take you home.”
On the way back to his house, Pearce called his partner to let her know he needed to go to the hospital.
After Mike dropped him off, Pearce’s partner drove Pearce to Mercy Health Boardman Hospital for treatment.
Due to the severity of the injury to his internal organs, he then had to be life-flighted to another hospital for surgery.
Pearce is recovering from the injury and currently in stable condition.
Police arrest ‘Mike’
Officers went back to Rush Boulevard and Lucius Avenue and collected ten 10-mm spent shell casings.
They also located the Cadillac driven by Mike “stashed” at Pearce’s house “riddled with holes,” and reports say “Mike” was still standing nearby when officers arrived.
The suspect ran, and officers were able to track him down after he threw a small bag containing Fentanyl and cocaine, later confirmed by lab tests.
Police arrested “Mike” for the narcotics, whose real name is Keith Tillis.
Reports say Tillis also claimed another vehicle started shooting at his Cadillac in the area of Rush Boulevard and Lucius Avenue.
When asked about the narcotics, Tillis denied they were his. The reporting officer concluded he was the only person around the corner of where the narcotics had been dropped, so they were most likely his.
Police arrested Tillis and he was taken to the Mahoning County Justice Center. He’s facing two charges of possession of controlled substances.
The juvenile involved was released back to the custody of his guardian.
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This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 4:07 PM.
