One man dead, one injured in Belleville shooting
Posted By JASON MILLER, QMI AGENCY
Posted 22 hours ago
A Belleville man is facing murder charges after a St. Patrick's Day party he was hosting erupted in gunfire leaving one man dead and another gravely injured.
City police held a news conference yesterday to confirm Myles Hughes, 21, was charged with one count of murder and one count of attempted murder. He made a brief appearance in Belleville court yesterday and was remanded in custody until a video appearance in Ontario court March 25.
Det.-Insp. Mike Graham said the shooting happened at about 3:30 a.m., at a Belleville apartment. He said two men were shot when the party hosted by the tenants of the building turned ugly. Officers arrived at the scene to find a "large disturbance."
The melee left Roy Steven Mays, 24, with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at Quinte Health Care Belleville General as a result of the injuries sustained. The other man, Justin Steven Coughlan, 19, of Shannonville was transported to Kingston General Hospital where he is being treated for his injuries. Coughlan is the deceased's cousin.
Graham said a man was arrested at the crime scene, minutes after another man was "found laying on the ground," suffering from gunshot wounds outside the house, by police.
"At 3:32 a.m., our first officer at the scene made an arrest in regards to the injuries suffered by the male," he said.
Graham was tight-lipped about the details of the case, saying the investigation is ongoing, with many interviews to be conducted. He said in order to secure the integrity of the investigation, certain details such as the kind of gun used to commit the crime, would not be released.
"There was a large group of people that were in the area, that were associated to that residence," he said.
He said Hughes lived in the house where the shooting occurred.
Graham added that illegal firearms have been a predominant factor in recent investigations.
Police had a portion of Albert Street cordoned off yesterday as they scoured the area for potential evidence. A single shoe, possibly from a partygoer, sat on the front stoop of a building across the street from the scene -- it, too, was cordoned off.
Sarah Tucker was blocked by police as she attempted to enter the house to walk her dog, left inside the apartment house. She's also a tenant in the building where the shooting occurred. Tucker said she was awakened by the rowdy party, in the adjoining unit, where Hughes lived with another man.
"I woke up, because I heard a bunch of kids yelling and screaming and running back and forth from room to room," she said. "I just sat at the top of the stairs and listened because that's kind of out of the ordinary."
Tucker said chaos erupted when gunshots rang out inside the house.
"I heard pop, pop, pop," she said. "I heard them all screaming, like 'Oh my God, he's dead. Call 911'."
Tucker took matters into her own hands and called 911 from her side of the house.
"I didn't even think or hesitate, I just called 911 right away," she said. "It was kind of surreal."
Tucker said Hughes and the other man hosting the party, moved into the house a few months ago.
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