Suspect arrested in triple shooting

Tremayne Griffin (14) was a basketball player at Scott High School in 2008 and 2009, his former coach, Joe Suboticki, says. Griffin, who police say is a gang member, played hard, for the Scott team, the coach said.

The Blade/Jeremy Wadsworth
Buy This Image

Tremayne Griffin.

A former Scott High School basketball player recently jailed on charges he shot a man in the chest was back in the Lucas County jail Friday night — this time accused by authorities of shooting three people in a central-city home just two days after his release.

Tremayne Griffin, 21, of 2237 Putnam St. was being held in the Lucas County jail in lieu of $600,000 bond on three counts of felonious assault for the Sunday night shooting on Woodland Avenue that wounded Kera Mitchell, 27, Dwight Gibbs, 39, and Ebony Hollis, 32. Police have not commented on a possible motive.

"I hope he didn't do it. All I can do is pray," said Griffin's mother, Leslie Williams, of the same Putnam address.

Griffin, who authorities say is a gang member, faced multiple violent-crime charges as a youth, according to juvenile records. He was charged with his first crime — petty theft — at 11 years old, according to his four-page juvenile record. He was disposed to probation.

In the years that followed, Griffin was found delinquent of more serious charges, including receiving stolen property, petty theft, obstructing official business, grand theft auto, robbery, assault, and aggravated robbery.

In 2006, Griffin was sent to the Lucas County Youth Treatment Center for the aggravated robbery charge, where he spent about a year. He was discharged from the center's aftercare program in 2008, records show.

Tara Hobbs, director of the center, said the program focuses on treatment intervention for troubled youths, with an emphasis on how children think and feel to help them "make better prosocial choices." She could not specifically comment on Griffin's stay at the center without his consent.

Griffin, was a basketball player for the Bulldogs at Scott in 2008 and 2009, said his former coach, Joe Suboticki.

"He played hard and, you know, he was very athletic. ... He had a pretty decent senior year," Mr. Suboticki said.

Mr. Suboticki said Griffin never caused any problems on the court, although he said there were times he was in trouble at school. Hearing of the charges against Griffin surprised Mr. Suboticki, who retired from Scott in 2010.

Tremayne Griffin (14) was a basketball player at Scott High School in 2008 and 2009, his former coach, Joe Suboticki, says. Griffin, who police say is a gang member, played hard, for the Scott team, the coach said.

"I knew he was in some trouble awhile back, but I didn't know he'd gotten in more trouble," he said. "He was a competitor and he played hard for me. That's a shame that something like that has happened."

Griffin, who graduated from Scott in 2010, declined to be interviewed.

After high school, Griffin enrolled at the University of Toledo for 2011's fall semester but did not reregister for spring, a university spokesman said. Although he had not declared a major, Ms. Williams said her son was interested in criminal justice.

On Jan. 12, Griffin was arrested for his alleged role in a gang-related shooting on Tecumseh Street earlier that night.

Steven Parker, Jr., 25, of Blum Street told police he was walking west along Tecumseh Street between Miller and Hawley streets when a man in a passing car asked for a light, and then the occupant shot him in the chest when he approached the car.

Griffin, who was arraigned in Toledo Municipal Court on a charge of felonious assault in the shooting, posted a $100,000 bond on Feb. 3, according to jail officials. Two days later, police said, he was the one who stood outside 621 Woodland Ave. and opened fire through a front window, shooting and injuring three people inside.

Griffin's mother said that until her son is proved guilty, she'll hold on to hope that his arrest was a mistake.

"I have three boys in this city, and the route that everyone is going, I'm very scared for my children every time they walk out my door," she said.

Contact Taylor Dungjen at: tdungjen@theblade.com or 419-724-6054.