A 29-year-old Springfield man shot by a Clark County sheriff’s deputy outside a bar last month gave an exclusive interview today from his bed at Miami Valley Hospital.
KEY POINTS
- Deputies go to Horseshoe Sports Bar and Billiards (911 call)
- Bar's owner said man was "flashing a gun" in restroom
- Terrence D. Victoria was shot in the upper body
- Deputies Chris Doolin, Nicholas Anderson are on leave
- Only Doolin fired his service weapon
- Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation doing its own probe
UPDATE @ 7:50 p.m. April 1:
Terrence Victoria, 29, the man shot by a Clark County sheriff’s deputy, spoke by phone today from Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. He told reporter Brian Bondus he never had a gun and that he may never walk again.
“I don’t play with guns, I fight,” said Victoria, who said he believed deputies mistook a blunt for a gun.
Deputies said they found a gun in Victoria’s lap after the shooting.
Prosecutors released a video today of the March 20 deputy-involved shooting, which happened after deputies responded to a 911 call at a Springfield Twp. bar reporting that a man had a gun. Deputies said Victoria pointed a gun at them as he sat in a car in the lot of the Horseshoe Sports Bar and Billiards on East National Road.
Victoria was shot twice.
“Two bullets in the face — one bullet’s lodged in my face still,” said Victoria, between his spine and skull. ‘They are saying I might not be able to walk after this and my motor skills are going to be messed up.”
Lynne Rinehart was with Victoria at the bar. She first told investigators he never had a gun, but later changed her story, deputies said. Several witnesses reported seeing a weapon.
Rinehart, arrested by the state Bureau of Criminal Investigations, which accused her of lying, has pleaded not guilty.
Victoria said he had plans to visit his children in California the day after he was shot.
“After this, me just having a good life for my children or making good enough money for my children … now I don’t know because I’m a physical guy,” he said.
A spokeswoman for BCI said she could not comment on the cases against Victoria nor Rinehart because it’s an open investigation.
UPDATE @ 3:40 p.m. April 1:
Terrence Victoria, 29, the man shot last month by a Clark County Sheriff’s deputy, gave an exclusive interview from his hospital bed to reporter Brian Bondus. Victoria said his jaw is wired shut and he doesn’t have feeling in his arms.
UPDATE @ 6:45 p.m. March 24:
A 29-year-old man shot by a Clark County deputy outside a Springfield Twp. bar last week remains in critical condition at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.
Terrence D. Victoria of Springfield was shot at least once in the upper body before 2 a.m. Friday while he was sitting in the driver’s seat of a car in the parking lot of the Horseshoe Sports Bar and Billiards, 3520 E. National Road, said Sheriff Gene Kelly.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is conducting an independent probe because it’s an officer-involved shooting. The investigation is ongoing, said BCI spokeswoman Jill Del Greco.
Victoria was shot after deputies responded to a 9-1-1 call from the bar’s owner, who said a customer reported a man “flashing a gun” in the restroom.
Dispatchers were told by the patron that a man in a yellow hooded sweatshirt allegedly pointed a gun at him and was sitting in a car in the parking lot.
“Deputies approached the vehicle with caution while identifying themselves,” according to a sheriff’s report. “While getting closer to the vehicle a subject inside of the car pointed a gun directly at the deputy. The deputy was in fear for his life so he fired his service weapon.”
UPDATE @ 5:45 p.m. March 20:
We’ve learned the names of the Clark County sheriff’s deputies involved in a shooting outside a bar this morning that left one man injured. Deputies Christopher Doolin and Nicholas Anderson have been placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
Sheriff Gene Kelly confirmed that only Doolin fired his weapon.
He said both have worked for the sheriff’s office since 2008 and have exemplary records. Doolin served as a police officer for the Village of Enon before joining the sheriff’s office.
The deputies were responding to a 911 call from the bar’s owner after a patron reported a man, “flashing a gun,” in the men’s bathroom. Deputies found Anderson in his car.
“Deputies approached the vehicle with caution while identifying themselves,” according to a sheriff’s report. “While getting closer to the vehicle a subject inside of the car pointed a gun directly at the deputy. The deputy was in fear for his life so he fired his service weapon.”
Kelly declined to say how many shots Doolin fired. There were two other people in the car, but neither was injured.
UPDATE @2:17 p.m. March 20:
Clark County Sheriff Gene Kelly has confirmed the name of the man a deputy shot early this morning as Terrence Victoria.
Victoria underwent surgery at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.
Deputies alleged they recovered a loaded handgun from Victoria’s lap, Kelly said, declining to release the names of the deputies involved, citing a union contract requirement.
Two deputies were at the Horseshoe bar, but only one fired a weapon. Both are on leave.
UPDATE @1:50 p.m. March 20:
We’ve received a copy of the 911 call from inside the Horseshoe Sports Bar and Billiards early this morning shortly before a man was shot by a Clark County sheriff’s deputy in the parking lot.
A bartender called to request that deputies check out a man sitting in his car who had just reportedly pointed a gun at several patrons in the bathroom.
One of those patrons, who identifies himself as a licensed security guard and a regular who helps out at the bar, gets on the phone with a dispatcher to describe the man with the gun.
While on the call, commotion can be heard in the background and the caller says, “They said they need you here right now.”
It is unclear if shots have been fired at that point, but the dispatcher says deputies are on scene and advises them to lock the door and not let anyone in or out of the bar. At one point the dispatcher says, “We do have someone that just fired shots… I’m going to keep you on the phone until we’ve got further information. The scene is not safe outside.”
The dispatcher remains on the line with those inside for about 30 minutes while an ambulance arrives outside and deputies secure the scene.
FIRST REPORT, March 20:
A Clark County deputy shot a man who reportedly pointed a gun at deputies in a bar parking lot, Sheriff Gene Kelly said.
Deputies were responding to the report of a man threatening patrons with a gun inside the Horseshoe Sports Bar and Billiards on East National Road.
The man was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center around 2 a.m. Friday. He was transferred to Miami Valley Hospital. Kelly did not immediately release information on his condition.
BCI investigators are on the scene.
It is unclear whether the man fired at deputies.
Kelly said there may have been as many as 200 people inside the bar at the time of the shooting.
Deputies had also responded to the bar — which Kelly called a “source of constant complaints” — a short time earlier on a noise complaint. They were across the street when the report about the man with the gun was made.
