Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
CLEVELAND, Ohio — An 18-year-old man fatally shot a man who showed up to a St. Patrick’s Day party looking for his ex-girlfriend, according to police.
Derrick Wilson, 29, died in an early morning shooting in the city’s Stockyards neighborhood.
The 18-year-old man who shot Wilson later gave an interview to homicide detectives with his attorney and turned over his gun, police said. Detectives did not arrest him and are investigating the case as a potentially justified shooting under Ohio’s Castle Doctrine.
A judge in February issued a temporary protection order barring Wilson from going near his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend after she accused Wilson of attacking her.
The shooting happened about 7 a.m. Thursday at a home on West 54th Street and Denison Avenue. Wilson’s ex-girlfriend was inside the home for a St. Patrick’s Day party that was still going from the day before, according to police.
Wilson showed up looking for his ex-girlfriend and got into an argument with another man that escalated into a fight outside the home, according to police.
The man went back inside and locked the door. Wilson kicked the door several times. The 18-year-old man, who was not involved in the fight, fired a single gunshot through the door, according to police. The bullet hit Wilson in the back, killing him.
Officers reported finding a large pool of blood on the porch and a broken window, according to police reports. An ambulance took Wilson to MetroHealth, where he died.
Wilson on Feb. 7 attacked the 25-year-old woman at her home on the city’s West Side, according to police. She told the officers at the time the two had been in a relationship for two years, according to police.
He punched her several times in the body, knocking her to the ground, according to police reports. He stomped on her head several times, which knocked her unconscious.
The woman woke up, didn’t see Wilson in the room and jumped out of a second-floor window, police reports say. She ran to a neighbor’s home and called for an ambulance.
Officers interviewed her at MetroHealth where she was treated for multiple cuts and bruises.
The woman told officers that Wilson had become more violent during the last year, that he threatened to kill her and had choked her several times. She told the officers she believed he was capable of killing her and that he had access to weapons, according to police reports.
Prosecutors filed charges against Wilson two days later and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was not arrested on the charges.
Wilson’s three criminal convictions were for carrying concealed weapons and possessing weapons with a felony record.
It’s the second time in recent weeks that a man accused of domestic violence was shot to death when he returned to attack his victim.
On Feb. 21, a 21-year-old man staying with a domestic violence victim for her protection fatally shot Mark Downs, who police said returned to the woman’s home to attack her.
Downs had attacked the woman earlier in the day and police had previously arrested and charged him with domestic violence in connection with a Feb. 7 incident in which he repeatedly punched her in the face, according to police and court records.
No charges were filed against the 21-year-old man for the shooting.