Man indicted in double homicide
Jul. 7—CATLETTSBURG — An Ohio man accused in a June 17 killing of two sisters in East Ashland was indicted this week on murder charges.
John F. Tooson, 32, of Rossford, Ohio, was indicted July 5 on two counts of murder, one count of auto theft between $1,000 and $10,000 in value, one count of first-degree wanton endangerment and one count of possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
Tooson is accused of fatally gunning down 20-year-old Selina Easter — his girlfriend — and 18-year-old Summer Algarakhuly, inside an apartment on Montgomery Avenue.
After killing the two women, Tooson fled the scene in Easter's car and drove to Toledo, according to police. He left behind Algarakhuly's 2-month-old child at the scene, unharmed, APD reported.
When authorities tried to apprehend Tooson in Toledo, he holed himself up in a home and engaged in a six-hour-long standoff, police said. Tooson acted like he was giving himself up, but instead went inside, grabbed a gun and shot himself on the front porch, police said.
Ashland Police Chief Todd Kelley said Thursday that Tooson is still being treated in the hospital for his wounds up in the Toledo area.
"We have frequent communications with the police up there," Kelley said. "The last time I spoke with them was Tuesday and they told me he is still undergoing the treatment phase."
Currently, Tooson is being charged with murder as a class A felony, which is punishable with between 20 and 50 years in prison. However, he could potentially be charged with a capital crime, which means either the death penalty or life without parole.
Boyd County Commonwealth's Attorney Rhonda Copley declined to say if the charges will be upgraded, stating she wished to speak with the family of the victims before making any decision.
Publicly available records on Tooson paint a picture of a man from a decently well-off family who'd seen a little bit of trouble over the years.
Business records show his grandfather, John Tooson III, owned a limousine company in the Cincinnati area during the 1980s and 1990s, Tooson's father, John Tooson IV, is a former bank executive and the CEO of his own consulting company.
John Tooson V, however, caught a felony when he was 19 after he and a buddy pulled off a home invasion in Toledo — news reports from the time state he was taken into custody after being shot in the leg.
According to court records, Tooson and a friend held another man at gun point and stole his cellphones. While his co-defendant got eight years for the incident, Tooson received probation.
In 2018, he was charged in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania — in the Philadelphia metropolitan area — with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
While his case languished for nearly three years, he received a chemical dependency counseling license from the state of Ohio, records show.
The elder Tooson also helms Caregiver Grove, a behavioral health service in the Toledo area. Various professional pages shows his son worked there as a care coordinator at some point.
In 2021, Tooson pleaded guilty to his firearms charge in Pennsylvania, however a bench warrant shows he never reported to serve his 11- to 23-month sentence.
He was arrested on May 5 in Ironton on that bench warrant and waived his right to an extradition hearing.
(606) 326-2653 — henry@dailyindependent.com
