Zanesville man dies in early morning homicide
By Tonya Shipley, The Zanesville Times Recorder (Ohio)
ZANESVILLE, Ohio -- Two Zanesville, Ohio men were killed Sunday morning, one the victim of a homicide, the other the apparent murderer killed in a shootout with police.
An officer was also shot in the process.
Zanesville Police Chief Eric Lambes said the police were called to the Only One Motorcycle Club, located near the intersection of State and Lee streets, around 2:30 a.m. Sunday in response to a shooting.
aIt turned out to be a homicide. The victim was 32-year-old Willard Pullie, who has been shot numerous times and died at the scene,a Lambes said.
There were witnesses at the scene who were able to give police the description of a vehicle and suspectas name. Police alerted the Muskingum County Sheriffas Office and the Zanesville Post of the State Highway Patrol to be on the lookout for the suspect’s vehicle.
Police tracked the vehicle to 1307 Jackson St., which was being rented by 23-year-old Michael Fowler, also known as Freedom Allah. Officers knocked on the door, but got no response. They were able to secure a search warrant and executed it around 10 a.m., after evacuating neighboring houses.
Lambes said five members of the departmentas Special Response Team entered the house through the front door, where Fowler was waiting on them.
“He opened fire on the first officer through the door,” Lambes said.
The officer was struck twice in his bulletproof vest and was able to return fire and hit Fowler, who was also wearing a bulletproof vest. The officer’s rounds penetrated Fowleras vest and killed him.
The officer, whose name is not being released, was not injured. Lambes said the officer was first shot in the abdomen area, where one of his equipment pockets were located. The equipment blocked the shot. The second shot hit the officeras vest just over his heart.
Without the vest, Lambes said the situation would have been far worse.
The officer was not transported to the hospital, but did later get checked out at the hospital.
The subsequent investigation showed Fowler had two handguns.
“He obviously had no problem shooting someone,” Lambes said.
Police are still investigating the motive for Pullieas shooting.
While the situation was unfortunate, Lambes said he was proud of his officers for the way they handled it. He said all their training, which is more than eight hours a month, prepares officers for these types of incidents.
“I think Zanesville is very fortunate to have these officers,” Lambes said. “They performed very well.”
Lambes has been with the force since 1981 and said he can only remember two or three incidents where officers have had to fire at a suspect. Fowler was killed because the weapons the SRT uses are more sophisticated and powerful than the normal .45-caliber handguns the other officers use. Since a bank robbery in Los Angeles several years ago when the suspects covered themselves in bulletproof vests, Lambes said police departments around the country began using weapons better equipped to protect officers.