WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren OhioBond set at $5 million for suspect in murder of 8-year-old boy

Bond set at $5 million for suspect in murder of 8-year-old boy

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YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Bond is set at $5-million for 21-year-old Shawn Wilson of Youngstown. He's the Youngstown man accused of firing an assault weapon into an east side apartment building and killing 8-year-old Bryce Linebaugh early Monday morning.

The little boy was murdered in his bed as a bullet from an assault weapon penetrated the walls of his 2nd floor bedroom.

21 News has learned that Bryce's younger brother also suffered injuries from flying glass related to the gunfire. He was sleeping in the same room on the bottom bunk of the bunk bed where his brother Bryce was murdered.

Youngstown police detectives and the city's chief prosecutor officially charged Wilson with aggravated murder on Wednesday afternoon.

The east side Youngstown man could face even more charges when the case is presented to the Mahoning County Grand Jury next week, as well as the death penalty if convicted of murdering a child.

As Wilson made his initial appearance in court by video arraignment he told Judge Elizabeth Kobly, "I can't accept this charge."

Detectives say Wilson was armed with an assault weapon and was targeting a neighbor who lived next door to the little boy when he opened fire at the Rockford Village housing projects just after 1:00 a.m. Monday morning.

Prosecutors requested the multi-million dollar bond on Wilson saying it's warranted for a number of reasons. The judge agreed, saying she wouldn't consider anything less.

Youngstown's chief prosecutor, Dana Lantz, says, "The suspected firearm was found in the woods near his house. The clothes he was wearing were washed, the car was wiped clean when we executed our search warrants. So there were attempts to hinder his discovery and there's always a risk of him doing something else in the community. Obviously he's a danger."

Wilson is no stranger to law enforcement. He's been arrested eight times on various charges since 2009 and he was on probation on a charge of improper handling of a firearm when the crime happened.

Tragically, Bryce Linebaugh is one of 10 children and unborn babies murdered by gun violence in the last 16 years in Youngstown and Warren.

Now, other parents of murdered children, including Carol Roland, are calling on the community to stop the violence. Roland's son, Terrell, had just turned 18 when he was gunned down in the family's driveway as he talked to a friend. He was also murdered by a bullet intended for someone else.

Roland says, "I think it's just terrible that all this violence is going on. And like they say, it's all happening in someone's fit of anger. You go out and just start shooting not knowing who that bullet is going to hit because bullets don't have eyes. I just want to say that it has to stop. Why is there so much black on black crime? Do we hate each other that much? Are we that terrible of a race that we have to kill each other off?"

And in this most recent case, where Bryce Linebaugh died, the prosecutor and police credit the community for being the voice of an innocent child and putting their fear aside by speaking up and providing police with information that helped them catch the suspected killer.