Firefighter Shot

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Firefighter Shot
Story from the WKBN TV27 Web Site on 11/14/2007.

A Youngstown Firefighter is in critical condition tonight after being shot several times at his East Side home. Police responded to 28 Fruit Street around 12:15 this afternoon to a report of shots fired. When the arrived on scene they found one man with at least four gun shot wounds.

The victim is Andre Johnson, a Youngstown Firefighter, who was not on duty at the time of the incident. Police say a struggle did occur in the house. And they believe the other individual involved, who was also injured, drove himself to Trumbull Memorial Hospital. Warren P-D impounded a car at the hospital that may belong to THAT man. But according to the Youngstown Fire chief, John O'Neil, Johnson was speaking to the paramedics before he was transported to Saint Elizabeth's.

"ANDRE JOHNSON'S BEEN A FIREFIGHTER FOR ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF. HE'S BEEN DOING A GOOD JOB FOR US OVER THAT TIME PERIOD, STILL WAITING TO GET THE PARTICULARS TO WHAT HAPPENED ON THE EAST SIDE THERE."

Police also found drugs on the premises, but they did not say who they belonged to.  The Incident remains under investigation.

[daysleeper47]

Sounds like someone was involved in something they shouldn't have been...

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Youngstown firefighter shot on East Side
Story from the Youngstown Vindicator on 11/14/2007.

Video available at http://new.vindy.com/videos/2007/nov/14/46/

YOUNGSTOWN — A city firefighter was shot four times during what neighbors said may have been a robbery at his North Fruit Street home on the East Side around 12:30 p.m. today.

The victim, Andre Johnson, 26, was taken to St. Elizabeth Health Center. No condition was available because he remained in the emergency room.

A man who may be a suspect in the shooting was at Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital, and Warren police were holding a car for Youngstown police.

Part of the man’s ear found at 28 N. Fruit was taken to TMH to see if it could be reattached, said Lt. Mark Milstead. Fire Chief John J. O’Neill Jr. said Johnson was hired June 17, 2006.

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Firefighter shot; drugs found
Story By JOE GORMAN in the Warren Tribune Chronicle on 11/15/2007.

YOUNGSTOWN — Police found a bag full of marijuana, money and a human ear inside the East Side home of an off-duty firefighter who was shot several times Wednesday afternoon.

And a police guard is stationed at Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Warren after a possible suspect from Warren drove himself to the hospital for treatment to an injury to his ear.

Andre Johnson, 26, a city firefighter since 2006, was listed in critical condition at St. Elizabeth Health Center Wednesday after being shot in the face and stomach about 12:40 p.m. He was off duty when he was shot at his 28 N. Fruit St. home, which had a large amount of blood in the basement, where a duffel bag filled with marijuana and a shoe box full of cash were found.

Johnson told police before he was taken to the hospital that he knows the two men who shot him through his cousins and that both men are from Warren.

Warren Police Lt. Janice Gilmore said the case is being investigated by Youngstown and she had little information about the case. However, she said Stefan Gantz is under guard at Trumbull Memorial, where he is being treated for an injury to his ear. She said a Youngstown officer who is guarding Gantz said he may be released today.

Youngstown police are interested in talking to Gantz’s brother, Adonis. Gilmore confirmed the men are from the Warren area.

An ear was also found in the basement of the home, which was where the drugs and money were found amid trails of blood and broken furniture.

A few hours after the shooting, members of the Youngstown Vice Squad could be seen leaving the home.

Police found Johnson bleeding on the sidewalk in front of a nearby home. He said the two men flagged him down and then fired several shots at him.

A neighbor told police he saw Johnson run from the home and collapse on the sidewalk as a brown vehicle with a loud muffler and wrecked passenger’s door pulled out of his driveway and sped away.

There were also other large bags of marijuana found in the basement, a report said.

Fire Chief John O’Neill could not be reached for comment.

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Injuries delay probe in shooting
Story from the Youngstown Vindicator on 11/16/2007.

Gunshot residue tests were given to both victims.

YOUNGSTOWN — It's going to take a while to sort out what led up to an off-duty city firefighter's being shot inside his house, who owns the marijuana-filled duffel bag found on a couch — and how his visitor lost part of an ear.

The medical conditions of the firefighter, Andre Johnson, and Stefin Gantt, the visitor, are slowing the investigative process, Capt. Kenneth Centorame, chief of detectives, said Thursday.

Johnson, 26, of North Fruit Street, was shot in the face, stomach and leg at his home around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. He remains in critical condition at St. Elizabeth Health Center.

Gantt, 20, of Garden Street Northwest, Warren, was taken by a companion to Forum Health Trumbull Memorial Hospital after the shooting. A police officer later took the man's right ear, packed in ice in a plastic container, to the Warren hospital to see if it could be reattached.

Centorame said Gantt, whose ear was likely bitten or cut off, has Youngstown police guard at the hospital. Reports show Gantt was also shot in his left forearm. Gunshot residue tests were done on Johnson and Gantt, who know each other, police said.

There's a lot of work to be done before any charges are filed, Centorame said. He said detectives spoke to Johnson's roommate, who wasn't home at the time of the shooting, and the young man was very forthcoming.

Centorame said Gantt and another man, Ryan Ringold, also of Warren, went to Johnson's house, with Ringold saying he stayed inside the car. Why they went to the house is part of the investigation.

A struggle took place inside Johnson's basement, where furniture was overturned and blood found on the carpet. Vice Squad officers found roughly a pound of marijuana in a duffel bag, a digital scale with marijuana residue, drug pipe, a loaded .25-caliber pistol and $500 cash in a night stand, and smaller bags of marijuana.

Fire Chief John J. O'Neill Jr. said Thursday that everyone at the fire department is worried about Johnson. The firefighter, hired in June 2006, is assigned to Fire Station No. 12 on McGuffey Road.


"As long as he's OK first, then we'll worry about the other stuff," O'Neill said, referring to the marijuana found inside the firefighter's home. "I can't help but hope the [marijuana] is not his. I'd like to believe that."

Trumbull County court records, meanwhile, show Gantt was indicted in April on charges of felonious assault with a firearm specification, improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation and felonious assault on a peace officer with a firearm specification. A pretrial hearing had been set for Thursday with Judge John M. Stuard.

Vindicator files show that Gantt is accused of firing a shot in the direction of Warren Patrolman Jeff Miller when the officer was responding to a report of a man with a firearm in the 1500 block of North Park Avenue on Feb. 25.

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Suspect Charged in Youngstown Firefighter Shooting
Story from the WFMJ TV21 Web Site on 11/16/2007.

The man suspected of shooting a Youngstown firefighter is released from Trumbull Memorial Hospital and taken directly to the Youngstown Police Department for questioning. 20-year-old Stefin Gantt of Warren was officially charged with felonious assault this afternoon and is in jail.  Gantt himself was shot in the arm and his ear severed somehow during a struggle at Youngstown Firefighter Andre Johnson's Fruit Street home on Wednesday. The firefighter remains in critical condition at St. Elizabeth Hospital tonight after being shot multiple times. Detectives also found a box of cash, large bags of suspected marijuana and guns in Johnson's home after the alleged robbery -- but they're still investigating to determine who the items belonged to.

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Suspect In Jail For Shooting Firefighter
Story from the WYTV Channel 33 Web Site on 11/16/2007.

We have an update for you in that shooting of a Youngstown firefighter this week.

A suspect is behind bars.

Friday morning investigators took 20-year-old Steffin Gantt into custody as he was being released from Trumbull Memorial Hospital in Warren.

Wednesday Andre Johnson, an off-duty firefighter, was shot several times during what police say was a fight with Gantt at a house on Youngstown's Eastside.

Investigators say they found marijuana in the house as well.

Johnson remains hospitalized at Saint E's.

Gantt is due in court Monday morning.

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Youngstown Firefighter Fights For His Life
Story from the WYTV Channel 33 Web Site on 11/16/2007.

The Youngstown firefighter shot Wednesday afternoon remains hospitalized in serious condition.

According to police reports, 26-year old Andre Johnson was one of two victims of a shooting around noon Wednesday on North Fruit St

Investigators have identified the second victim as 20-year old Stifin Gantt, who is hospitalized at Trumbull Memorial.

Police say marijuana and bags of money were found in his home shortly after the shooting.

Police are calling Gantt a suspect in the shooting and are still looking for another man.

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Youngstown Firefighter's Condition Upgraded
Story from the WFMJ TV21 Web Site on 11/18/2007.

We have an update on the condition of a Youngstown Firefighter who was shot last week.

Andre Johnson is now listed in stable condition at St. Elizabeth's.

Johnson was shot after an alleged robbery attempt on Fruit Street.

20-year-old Stefin Gantt of Warren was arrested and charged with felonious assault on Friday in connection with the crime.

Detectives continue to investigate evidence including -- a box of cash, large bags of suspected marijuana, and guns found in Johnson's home after the alleged robbery attempt.

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Youngstown Firefighter To Stand Trial
Story from the WFMJ TV21 Web Site on 12/7/2007.
 
A Youngstown fire fighter who went from shooting victim to drug suspect will stand trial.   

A Mahoning County grand jury has indicted Andre Johnson on two drug charges: Trafficking in marijuana and possession of that drug.  The charges stem from the discovery of nearly a pound and a half of marijuana at Johnson's Fruit Street home.  Police discovered the drug when they were responding to a shooting and robbery there last month.

The man charged with that shooting is also facing more trouble.  A grand jury has indicted 20-year-old Stefin Gantt of Warren on three counts: Aggravated robbery, Felonious assault, and a firearms specification.  Gantt, himself, was shot in the arm and severed his ear somehow during a struggle at Johnson's Youngstown home.

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Firefighter will face predisciplinary hearing
Story from the Youngstown Vindicator on 11/29/2007.

The firefighter's actions harmed the department's image, the chief says.

YOUNGSTOWN -- The firefighter shot at home, and then charged with aggravated drug trafficking after police found more than a pound of marijuana, is scheduled for a predisciplinary hearing Tuesday.

Fire Chief John J. O'Neill Jr. sent a letter to 26-year-old Andre "Dre" Johnson this week advising him of the administrative charges he faces that could lead to termination.

The charges are failure of good behavior, conduct unbecoming a representative of the fire department, malfeasance, violation of oath of office and committing acts that led to confinement or imprisonment.

The hearing is expected to take place in the law department with an impartial hearing officer.

Johnson, off duty at the time, was shot in the face, stomach and leg at his North Fruit Street home Nov. 14. A struggle took place in the basement, where furniture was overturned and blood was found on the carpet.

During a search, Vice Squad officers found roughly a pound of marijuana in a duffel bag, a digital scale with marijuana residue, a drug pipe, a loaded .25-caliber pistol and 500 cash in a night stand and smaller bags of marijuana, police said.

Detectives believe Johnson was shot by Stefin Gantt, 20, of Warren, who was at the house to buy drugs. Gantt is charged with felonious assault.

"At worst, you have direct involvement in illegal drug activities or, at best, that you have chosen to associate with individuals participating in illegal activities that have resulted in substantial harm to the image of the Youngstown Fire Department and violated the public trust bestowed upon you as a firefighter," O'Neill said in the letter. "Your actions and involvement in this incident constitute serious offenses for which progressive discipline is not appropriate."

Johnson is free on 10,000 bond and recovering from his injuries. He is due back in municipal court Dec. 27 for a preliminary hearing.

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Youngstown Fire Fighter Fired
Story from the WFMJ TV21 Web Site on 12/21/2007.

Andre Johnson
 
A Youngstown fire fighter will no longer be allowed to battle blazes in the city any more.

According to fire chief John O'Neill, Andre Johnson has been fired from the Fire department.

A grand jury indicted him on Drug Trafficking and Possession of marijuana.  The charges stem from nearly a pound and a half of marijuana at Johnson's Fruit Street Home.

Police found the drugs after responding to a shooting and robbery at his residence last month.

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Johnson Fired
Story from the WYTV Channel 33 Web Site on 12/21/2007.

City officials say a hearing officer at a pre-disciplinary hearing found Andre Johnson violated departmental policy when he was indicted on drug charges. City officials say Johnson also violated his oath of office as well as conduct unbecoming of a representative of the fire department.

Police found marijuana in Johnson's house after he was shot multiple times by twenty year old Stefin Gantt who is charged with his shooting.

[daysleeper47]

Im 99% sure I went to high school with him. He graduated in 99 (I'm a 2000 grad) but left Ursuline before that. I played basketball with him.