Michigan man faces local slaying charge

Mora

NOT BLADE PHOTO

A memorial to Ysidro Mora has arisen on Eastbrook between Drummond and Kingsmoor. The memorial marks the site in West Toledo where his body was found fatally shot in a pickup. Residents in this normally tranquil neighborhood are edgy, but Toledo police say neither the victim nor the suspect had ties to the residential area. Police also say that the shooting was not a random act of violence.

A 20-year-old LaSalle man is being held in the Monroe County jail, awaiting extradition to Toledo, where he faces a murder charge, police said.

Robert Pennington was charged yesterday in the shooting death Friday of Ysidro Mora. Mr. Mora, 21, of 310 South Eber Rd. in Spencer Township was found fatally shot in a pickup that was wedged up against a tree about 5:50 a.m. at Kingsmoor and Eastbrook drives in West Toledo. His funeral was yesterday morning.

Police released few details about the investigation yesterday, including how many times the victim had been shot. According to a warrant filed in Toledo Municipal Court, Mr. Pennington is accused of shooting Mr. Mora "several times with a handgun" while in a motor vehicle.

Detective Bill Seymour said Mr. Pennington is the only suspect in the murder, and neither man had any ties to the normally quiet West Toledo neighborhood where the shooting occurred. Witness statements led police to suspect Mr. Pennington, police said.

Pennington

Mr. Pennington, who appeared in Monroe County Circuit Court yesterday, is being held without bond on the murder charge. A Nov. 20 hearing date was set in Monroe.

He's been in custody since Saturday when he was arrested by the Monroe County sheriff's deputies aided by Toledo police on a burglary warrant. The warrant, filed March 17 in Toledo Municipal Court, alleged that Mr. Pennington used force to enter a home in the 5300 block of 308th Street to commit a theft offense.

Mr. Pennington's record in Toledo Municipal Court includes convictions of resisting arrest, drug abuse, and unauthorized use of property. Police said Mr. Pennington was a suspect in the murder when he was initially arrested on the burglary warrant.

Mora

Last week, officers responding to a call of an injury accident found Mr. Mora, who was shot multiple times, in a vehicle. The shooting prompted the lockdown of several area schools and caused concern for neighborhood residents.

Officers went door-to-door asking neighbors in the 3000 block of Eastbrook what they saw or heard. Investigators are looking into the possibility that the suspect may have gone into some of the neighborhood homes around the time of the incident, Capt. Ray Carroll said.

Though police did not say what led to the shooting, Captain Carroll said area residents should not be concerned that the shooting was a random act of violence. "People there should not be worried about this," he said.

Contact Erica Blake at:

eblake@theblade.com

or 419-213-2134.