Calhoun is charged in connection to the death of Racquel Fowler, 53, who was killed on her birthday, and the shooting of a 29-year-old man on Sunday in the 300 block of West Liberty Street.
Clark County Municipal Court records state that Calhoun is accused of entering into the West Liberty Street residence with an assault rifle and firing multiple rounds at close range.
Detectives determined the shooting occurred with “prior calculation and design” and was committed in retaliation for another shooting that occurred that night, according to court documents.
“These shootings are retaliatory in nature and have continued to escalate,” according to a municipal court document filed by the prosecutor’s office.
Calhoun was arraigned in Clark County Municipal Court on Tuesday morning. The court denied him bail, stating that no release conditions would “reasonably assure safety to any person or to the community,” and the proof or presumption the defendant committed the accused offense was “great.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Police were dispatched to a house on West Liberty Street around 2:20 a.m. on Sunday.
Four people called emergency services to report gunshots fired through the area.
One 911 caller told a dispatcher he saw a dark-colored SUV speed away from the area after firing 30 to 40 shots at a house.
“You can hear someone down the street… screaming in the house,” he said. “I got woke up to it. I’m pretty sure they shot up a house, I’m pretty sure.”
“We’re taking multiple, multiple calls,” the dispatcher told the caller.
A man calling from inside the house told dispatchers that he was the grandson of Fowler and that he needed help, as his grandmother wasn’t breathing. Other people could be heard screaming in the background.
“Hurry up, please,” he said. “I can’t lose my grandma, I can’t.”
“I’ve got help coming to you, OK?” the dispatcher said. “I know this is hard.”
Fowler was shot twice in her upper thigh area and once in her lower left chest area, according to a Springfield incident report. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The 29-year-old man suffered a gunshot to the lower back. He was taken to Springfield Regional Medical Center and later transferred to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton with non-life threatening injuries, according to the incident report.
The man’s condition is not known.
Springfield police Sgt. James Byron confirmed the two victims were related to one another.
Police identified Calhoun as a suspect after gathering evidence at the scene and talking to witnesses.
“Evidence from outside the residence shows the shots were fired from the street and into the occupied structure,” Calhoun’s affidavit stated.
About the Author
