Erie police say witnesses, other evidence helped ID fatal birthday party shooting suspect
A birthday party inside an east Erie nightclub on Dec. 30 would lead to a fight in which a bar stool was thrown, striking a 38-year-old city man, according to Erie police.
The man struck by the bar stool and a 22-year-old Erie man suspected of throwing it then got into a brief altercation inside the Metroplex, 1843 Buffalo Road, before another 38-year-old man separated the combatants, investigators reported.
Detectives allege the 22-year-old, identified as Shannon D. Goodwin, then retrieved from outside of the club a gun the club's owner had made him remove from the establishment earlier that evening.
A single shot was fired inside, sending a bullet through the arm of the man who broke up the fight and into the chest of the man Goodwin was fighting with, according to police.
Steve Smith would die of the gunshot wound to his chest, the Erie County Coroner's Office reported.
More:Man dead, second victim wounded in shooting stemming from fight inside Erie nightclub
Erie police took Goodwin into custody from the Erie International Airport in Millcreek Township early Sunday morning. Erie 5th Ward District Judge Paul Bizzarro arraigned Goodwin later that morning on charges, filed on Saturday, that include criminal homicide, first-degree murder, aggravated assault and carrying a firearm without a license.
Goodwin was placed in the Erie County Prison without bond.
Investigators used eyewitness statements, surveillance video and other evidence to identify Goodwin as the person they believed fired the gun inside the Metroplex during a birthday party for a relative of his, according to information in the criminal complaint detectives filed in the case.
Police received information Goodwin would be returning to Erie from another location over the weekend and would be arriving on a flight to the Erie International Airport, according to investigators. Police took Goodwin into custody from the airport without incident, police reported Monday.
More:Erie police continue to search club, seek video in fatal shooting of 38-year-old man
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Erie police reported after the shooting that a group of people were inside the Metroplex on Dec. 30 when officers were called there to investigate a reported shooting at about 11:45 p.m.
Smith was taken by a private vehicle to Saint Vincent Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:58 p.m.
The 38-year-old man who was shot in the arm was taken by private vehicle to UPMC Hamot for treatment, police reported.
According to information in the affidavit of probable cause filed with Goodwin's criminal complaint, witnesses told police that at some point during the evening of the party, an owner of the Metroplex told Goodwin he needed to put a gun he had back into a vehicle outside, and the owner was seen walking Goodwin to a vehicle.
Later on, a fight broke out inside the Metroplex, and that others including the 38-year-old man shot in the arm attempted to break it up when a bar stool was thrown, hitting him, according to information in the complaint. The fight continued, and at one point Smith and Goodwin became involved in the altercation, witnesses told investigators.
As the man shot in the arm was separating the two, witnesses reported hearing a single gunshot that struck the 38-year-old man in the arm and struck Smith in the chest, detectives wrote in the affidavit.
Before the shot was fired, a witness reported seeing a person identified by police as Goodwin holding a gun, according to the affidavit.
Witnesses told police after the shooting, Goodwin was in the vehicle that was taking the 38-year-old wounded man to the hospital when he told the driver to drop him off. Police were told that Goodwin jumped out of the vehicle before it stopped, according to information in the affidavit.
Officers who responded to the shooting found blood outside and inside of the Metroplex, and they recovered a live 9 mm round and a spent 9 mm shell casing inside the club, according to the affidavit. Detectives wrote that they later learned that Goodwin had recently purchased a 9 mm semiautomatic pistol and ammunition from a local gun shop.
The markings stamped on the ammunition Goodwin purchased were similar to the markings found on the recovered live round and shell casing, and the rounds were similar in shape, size and appearance to the round recovered from Smith during the autopsy, detectives wrote in the affidavit.
More:Homicides down, but concerns remain high over shootings, juvenile crime spike in Erie
Smith's death was the seventh homicide in Erie County in 2022, with all occurring in the city of Erie. Police have charged suspects in all of the homicides.
Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny on Monday credited the efforts of detectives, who he said took their time in the investigation, got it done and got it done right.
"Obviously we're glad to have another solved case, and that we've cleared all of our homicides from last year," Spizarny said.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie police charge 22-year-old city man in fatal shooting at party
