Teenager, 17, struck; Toledo police officer fired upon in Thanksgiving altercation

11/24/2012

A Toledo teenager, who is accused of shooting another teen Thursday night and moments later allegedly firing at a city police officer, is expected to appear Monday for a detention hearing at the Lucas County Juvenile Justice Center.

Titus Crittendon, 15, of 731 Pinewood Ave. is charged with two counts of felonious assault in connection with the shootings.

The Crittendon youth was held in the county juvenile detention center Friday pending the hearing.

The teen’s elder sister, Adella Braylock, 19, said her family has not been able to speak to Titus since his arrest and does not know what happened.

“It’s devastating, for real,” she said, pulling a scarf around her face to shield it from the cold. “I don’t even know what to think.”

Police say the teen and a still-unidentified male were involved in shooting Tyreece Richardson, 17, near Nicholas Street and Prouty Avenue, in South Toledo, about 7:20 p.m.

The Richardson youth suffered a wound to the hip. He was treated at the University of Toledo Medical Center, formerly the Medical College of Ohio Hospital.

Police nearby heard the call and responded to the area and say they saw the Crittendon youth and a second male walking through an alley.

The two suspects ran in opposite directions. The unidentified male dropped or tossed a gun to the ground and vanished into the darkness after jumping a fence.

Officer Melvin Russell reported running after the Crittendon youth through an alley — between Nicholas and Lodge Avenue — when the teen allegedly turned and fired one shot at the officer. The bullet struck a garage.

Officer Russell took cover and fired one shot toward the suspect.

The officer broadcast a description of the suspect, which was heard by another nearby police crew, which observed the youth.

A responding police cruiser jumped a curb and skidded into a chain-link fence, knocking the suspect to the ground but otherwise causing no injury, Lt. Mark King said.

While the suspect was on the ground, officers were able to take him into custody, finding a gold-colored gun underneath the teen with two live rounds and a spent round.

Police said they do not know where the teen got the gun, but the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives will perform a trace, as it does for all recovered firearms, Lieutenant King said.

Miss Braylock said she didn’t know where her brother, who she said is a Scott High School student, might get a gun or what he was doing several miles away from his mother’s central-city home.

“He was outside, and the next thing we know we’re getting a call that he’s in jail,” Miss Braylock said.

To have a gun and be shooting at police, she continued, “That’s a dangerous thing. He ain’t even that type of person who would do that.… He was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time, probably with the wrong people.”

Officer Russell, who was hired in November, 2010, was placed on a mandatory three-day paid administrative leave, per department policy, Lieutenant King said.

The motive behind the Richardson youth’s shooting wasn’t clear Friday, but Lieutenant King said the victim and the suspect apparently “exchanged words and had it out.”

Contact Taylor Dungjen at: tdungjen@theblade.com 419-724-6054, or on Twitter @tdungjen_Blade.