No reason to believe deadly shooting by 18-year-old was not justified, Logan County sheriff says

LOGAN COUNTY — There is no reason to believe the shooting of a 37-year-old man by his 18-year-old stepson would be anything other than a domestic situation that ended in a homicide, Logan County Sheriff Randall Dodds told News Center 7 on Wednesday.

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“It’s possible this could be justified,” Sheriff Dodds told News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis. “I don’t know that now.... We were comfortable with the fact we didn’t have a killer on the loose out there. There was no reason to believe anything else [other] than a domestic incident. There wasn’t any evidence . . . we thought we could make an arrest [on] or take him into custody.”

Dodds said the preliminary investigation shows that the stepson called 911 about 10:27 p.m. Tuesday to report a domestic altercation and a shooting at the address in the 2600 block of Myeerah Trail, east of West Liberty in the county.

During the 911 call, the stepson said his stepfather, identified as Lee Brokaw, told him and his younger sister that it was their turn to die, Dodds said.

“He walked in and pointed the gun at me and my sister and he told us both to get on our knees,” the stepson told 911. “He pointed the gun at our heads and then my mom came up behind him and tried to wrestle him — he threw the gun on the ground.”

Out of fear for his safety as well as his family’s safety, he shot the man, the sheriff said.

“I had to stop him. I had to protect my family,” the stepson said in the 911 call. “I couldn’t allow him to do anything to them. My family means everything to me.”

Deputies did find the dead man in the home, Dodds said, noting that his deputies have responded to the address “numerous times. . . a handful of times” and most have involved the stepfather, be it for domestic or issues the neighbors were having with him.

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No one was taken into custody.

Dodds said his deputies and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents brought in to assist his small sheriff’s staff have completed their work at the scene. All of the facts that have been gathered will be given to the county prosecutor’s office.

Dodds said it’s his best guess the case will be presented to a grand jury and unless something develops, a grand jury will not return an indictment.

News Center 7 and whio.com are not identifying the stepson, his sister or their mother by name because of the circumstances of the incident.

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