Man, 22, killed in W. Toledo; 3 more wounded

Sunday afternoon gunfire started in large crowd in residential area

Toledo police officers survey the scene of shootings in the 2100 block of Joffre Avenue, east of Upton Avenue and Bancroft Street.

Two people are in custody after a 22-year-old man was shot to death and three other people were wounded after a fight erupted into gunfire in a West Toledo neighborhood Sunday afternoon, Toledo Police said.

Tyler J. Jones, 19, of 2719 Brentwood, is charged with one count of murder and three counts of felonious assault, according to a police report. Also in custody is Areanna M. Coley, 18, of the same address, charged with one count of obstructing justice.

Police identified the victim as Sheymarr R. Noble but did not provide an address. He was transported to ProMedica Toledo Hospital by unknown means and he was pronounced dead at about 3:45 p.m., police said.

Police said three other men in their 20s were injured by gunfire and treated at area hospitals following the melee that occurred on Joffre Avenue, east of Upton Avenue and Bancroft Street, about 3:15 p.m.

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Police said a large crowd was outside the homes in the 2100 block of Joffre when several individuals began fighting for an unknown reason.

Police assisted Emerson D. Ware, Jr., 26, who had at least one gunshot wound and who was reported in surgery at Toledo Hospital late Sunday, according to Sergeant Tim Noble.

Also injured were Terrelle D. Russell, 27, with a gunshot wound to the hand, at Toledo Hospital, where he was taken by unknown means, and Davon Ballard, 27, with a gunshot wound to the leg, at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, where he arrived about an hour after the incident. Both were reported in stable condition.

Police found at least 10 bullet casings, according to Lt. Frank Ramirez.

Large drops of blood could be seen on the sidewalk and in the street one block east on Calumet Avenue from one victim. A neighbor told The Blade that a car came and picked him up as he sat on a stoop.

Authorities believe some witnesses knew more than they were revealing, but were afraid to talk.

“Everyone’s reluctant to talk for fear of retaliation,” Lieutenant Ramirez said.

Neighbors described a large group of young men congregating and fighting on the street.

A woman said she looked out a window after hearing the first shot and saw a young man firing a gun with one hand.

“I [saw] a young dude with a gun shooting into a crowd of people and he started running,” she told The Blade. “He shot a lot of times. He emptied that gun.”

She would not give her name.

Jeanette Martin, a nearby resident on Joffre, was in her back yard when she heard the shots. She reported seeing a black male on his back in front of a sedan parked on the east side of the street.

Ms. Martin said he was bleeding from the head and she saw blood on his back between the shoulder blades when other individuals sat him up to put him in a gray SUV.

The crime scene was being examined by detectives and members of the gang unit. The initials G.G.C., believed to refer to Geer Gang Crips, were spray-painted on an empty house on the street, which is otherwise lined by seemingly well-tended homes.

The empty house has a dangling gutter and at least one broken window.

Neighbor Charles Brown, a public school activist with the group African-American Parents Association, called on police to show more vigilance in the neighborhood by sometimes just sitting in their cars instead of only driving through.

He also called for more structured activity, such as open swimming pools. He downplayed gang activity.

“When you put titles on young men like they’re in a gang you’re empowering them for their negative activity,” he said

Staff writer Alexandra Mester contributed to this report.

Contact Tom Troy: tomtroy@theblade.com or 419--724-6058 or an Twitter @TomFTroy.