All of Akron's murders in 2023 have 1 thing in common: Victims were shot

Suspects have been identified in five of the 15 murders in Akron this year through July 3.

All 15 were shot to death, according to Akron police statistics.

Of the 15 victims, eight were Black men ages 18 to 32. The victims also include one 24-year-old Asian man, a 63-year-old white man and two Hispanic men, ages 25 and 31.

Elias Gudino is charged in the deaths of the two Hispanic men, as well as in the death of a third person found outside Akron.

Three of the murder victims so far this year were women: two Black women ages 24 and 34 and a white 44-year-old woman.

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Here is a month-by-month look at the murders in Akron so far this year.

January

• The first first murder in Akron in 2023 was Jan. 24, when 32-year-old Martel Tatum, of Akron, was found unresponsive about 6 p.m. in the driver's seat of a car parked in the middle of the road in the 800 block of Haynes Street in Sherbondy Hill. Police responded to reports of gunfire and he died of a gunshot wound about 8:30 p.m. at Cleveland Clinic Akron General. The case remains under investigation.

February

• Police said Sydney Horton, 24, was found dead Feb. 6 after a friend initially reported her as a missing person. The case remains under investigation.

• William Hackney, 31, of Akron was found about 7:30 a.m. Feb. 25 shot to death in a car parked in front of a residence in the 700 block of Dunbar Drive in downtown Akron, in the residential Channelwood Village area. Police said a woman found his body in her bullet-riddled car. The case remains under investigation.

• Police said Tha Soe, 24, of Akron was shot to death while sitting in a vehicle parked in a driveway in the 700 block of Dayton Street in Akron's North Hill neighborhood around 12:10 a.m. Feb. 26. According to Soe's family, he and his father were chasing off two people who were trying to break in to the family home. The case remains under investigation.

March

• Inmer Reyes, 25, and Victor Varela-Rodriguez, 31, were found bound, gagged and shot in the head March 10 in a small wooded area off Cordova Avenue near Redbrush Road in West Akron near the Interstate 77 sound barrier. Police say the two were among three men from the Youngstown area allegedly killed by Copley resident Elias Gudino, who is charged with three murders, including a third victim, 35-year-old Domingo Castillo-Reyes, whose body was found in Copley. A fourth victim escaped and identified Gudino, 58, who has been charged with aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder.

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• Police say 18-year-old Marvin Rocker died following a shootout around 10 p.m. March 12. He was found dead with a gunshot wound to the chest around 11:20 a.m. the next day in a parking lot in the 1000 block of Lovers Lane in East Akron. The case remains under investigation.

• Robert Fey, 63, of Akron, was found dead March 25 in a grassy area next to a walking trail in Middlebury between Carroll and Beaver streets with a gunshot wound to his face/neck. Police said an anonymous caller reported the body around 4:30 p.m. that day. The case remains under investigation.

April

• Tiffany Ross, 44, of Akron was shot in the face about 1:10 a.m. April 8 inside a Newton Street bar in Goodyear Heights. Police identified Aaron Ridenour, 28, of Akron, as a suspect and found him on the other side of town hiding in the back of a pickup truck on Rhodes Avenue. He has been charged with murder, felonious assault, tampering with evidence and having a firearm inside a liquor establishment.

• Arnold Tyson, 24, of Akron, was found around 5:45 p.m. April 12 in the Ohio & Erie Canal behind an apartment in the 700 block of Fleming Drive following a shooting. He was found to have a gunshot wound and was taken to Cleveland Clinic Akron General, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later. Police said they believe there was more than one shooter involved. The case remains under investigation.

• Police said Jaevierre Greer, 22, of Akron was ambushed by two assailants around 11:30 p.m. April 19 while delivering a DoorDash order at the Timberland Village Apartments in Merriman Valley. Police arrested Matthew Couch, 21, and Derek Ransome-Fromby, 19, both of Akron. They were both charged with murder and felonious assault.

May

• Royce McCormick, 28, of Akron was one of two men shot around 10:45 p.m. May 2 outside an East Archwood Avenue bar in East Akron. A 21-year-old who had been with him suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police said that it appears unknown people pulled into the bar’s parking lot and opened fire on the men, who were standing outside the bar. The case remains under investigation.

• Darius Hoisten, 29, of Barberton, was one of three people shot during the afternoon May 22 following an argument that appears to have led to an exchange of gunfire in South Akron/Firestone Park, according to police. One of the two other victims was found in front of a residence in the 1400 block of South Main Street with Hoisten. The other was found a short distance away on East Emerling Avenue. The case remains under investigation.

• Brandon Colter, 27, of Akron, was died of a gunshot wound shortly after 7 p.m. May 24 after arriving at Cleveland Clinic Akron General. Police said he was shot by Kaelyn Smith, 27, who allegedly followed Colter and the driver of their car to the intersection of 27th Street S.W. and Carey Avenue following a property dispute at her nearby Kohler Avenue home. She has been charged with murder and felonious assault.

June

Akron police report there were no murders in the city during the month of June.

July

• Ernestine Stallings, 34, was shot around 1:30 p.m. July 3 in the Dollar Tree parking lot on West Market Street around 1:30 p.m. and was later pronounced dead at Cleveland Clinic Akron General. A witness told dispatchers she saw a lone gunman with a rifle fire at Stallings several times. The case remains under investigation.

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Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Akron Police Department Detective Bureau at 330-375-2490 or 330-375-2Tip. People may also provide anonymous information to The Summit County Crime Stoppers, call 330-434-COPS or text TIPSCO with tips to 274637.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron's 2023 murder victims were all shot; 10 of 15 remain unsolved