East Liverpool Police Reports
While responding Saturday night to multiple calls about what sounded like two gunshots on Bradshaw Avenue and two men fighting in the Giant Eagle parking lot, officers saw one man running across East Sixth Street, another man in pursuit who was identified as Larry Cunningham. According to reports, Cunningham began yelling, “That’s the guy,” and when asked if a firearm was involved, Cunningham replied, “Yes,” and placed a pistol on the sidewalk. He was ordered to the ground and complied, while officers went to Summit Lane, where they found Vernon W. Rodgers, 58, West Drury Lane and ordered him to the ground. From the .380-caliber Ruger pistol Cunningham placed on the ground, officers reported recovering four rounds from the six-round magazine, with one round in the chamber. They were told by Cunningham he dropped it and it went off “maybe two times” during his pursuit of Rodgers, whom he said he caught stealing his porch furniture, taking it to a pickup truck. When he confronted Rodgers, someone inside the truck said, “Go, go,” and it took off without Rodgers, Cunningham reported, denying he ever shot at Rodgers. Rodgers told police a male and female he knew only as Brad and Dawn asked him if he would help retrieve some porch furniture and said Cunningham fired three shots at him. Rodgers was charged with theft, and the investigation is continuing.