BY TANYA BRICKING
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Five years after his mother was stabbed to death, Clint Gardner's family is reliving the same pain.
The man suspected of shooting Mr. Gardner to death was in court Tuesday, and the shock of another homicide is just beginning to sink in for family members.
"Even though our bloodstreams are not the same, we're full-blooded brothers," said Ike Reese, 25, whose family took Clint in as a teen. "We slept in the same beds. We wore the same clothes. . . . I loved him the same as my other brothers."
Mr. Reese, now a linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles, remained close with Mr. Gardner after they moved apart. They were godfathers to each other's sons. They shared a dream of opening a family record company.
But Mr. Gardner's life never worked out as smoothly as he wanted. He lost his mother, Rita Gardner Ware, in 1993. His stepfather stabbed her to death during a fight at their downtown Cincinnati apartment. She was 39. Ralph Thomas Ware, then 67, served six months for involuntary manslaughter.
Mr. Gardner, 26, a single father in Over-the-Rhine, worked as a cook at the Courtyard Cafe on Main Street and spent his free time with his 7-year-old son, Clint Jr., known as "C.J."
Hours after working a double shift Saturday night, Mr. Gardner went to his girlfriend's apartment, where he was shot to death. CP:Ike Reese
Lester Johnson Jr., 35, of South Fairmount surrendered to police Monday night on a murder charge.
Jack Rubenstein, Mr. Johnson's attorney, said the shooting happened during a struggle with a handgun after Mr. Gardner entered the apartment, where Mr. Johnson and his brother were visiting. An argument ensued between Mr. Johnson and Mr. Gardner. They wrestled with the gun, Mr. Rubenstein said, and two shots went off. One shot hit Mr. Gardner in the chest.
Mr. Johnson, a married father of two who works two maintenance jobs, pleaded not guilty Tuesday at his arraignment in Hamilton County Municipal Court. Judge Guy Guckenberger set his bond at $250,000 cash. A grand jury is to hear the case by Nov. 25 to decide on indictments.
Mr. Reese says he will concentrate on his brother's life rather than his death.
"I know no one's really prepared for death," Mr. Reese said. "But this really caught my family off-guard."
Visitation for Mr. Gardner will be 10 a.m. Friday at Donald & Stewart Funeral Home, 3939 Reading Road in North Avondale. The funeral will be 11 a.m., with burial following at Baltimore Pike Cemetery in Westwood. Memorials can be made to the Make a Wish Foundation, 100 W. Clarendon, Phoenix, Ariz. 85013.
