Police have charged eight young men and women from Akron and Coventry Township in a fight that ended in seven gunshots that chased baseball players and their families out of Ellet’s Davenport Park last week.
On Friday afternoon, Lt. Rick Edwards of the Akron Police Department said “a thorough investigation was done on the fight that occurred on the basketball courts at Davenport Park.”
The investigation included a Facebook video posted live during the altercation, which began on the basketball courts and ended in a nearby parking lot. “They were all identified though the video that was put out on Facebook,” Edwards said.
Investigators believe Billy Lee Bronner, 22, of West Ingleside Drive in Coventry Township, fired the shots, which reportedly hit no one. He is charged with inducing panic and discharging a firearm. Also facing an arrest warrant was Kirk Louis, 18, of Carnegie Avenue in Akron, on charges of “inducing panic and disorderly conduct by violent and turbulent behavior.”
Police were still looking for Bonner and Louis.
Parents and local residents said the May 16 fight is the culmination of years of escalating violence and foul language at the park by unaccompanied youths. Authorities and city leaders suspect that the basketball courts were preselected for the fight.
Disgruntled residents consider the basketball courts to be a problem. The city has padlocked the courts. Ellet Councilman Bob Hoch will discuss with local residents whether to keep them closed or reopen them during a regular monthly ward meeting at 6 p.m. June 8 at the Robert J. Otterman Ellet Community Center, 2449 Wedgewood Drive.
In addition to the warrants issued, court summonses and charges related to the fight were given to five females and one male, all from Akron with the exception of one from Coventry Township. They range in age from 14 to 19.
All of the charges are misdemeanors.
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @ABJDoug .