Monday, February 01, 1999
Blink may help identify gunman
Victim saw photos before he died
BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
For 18 days, shooting victim Wilbert “Mickey” White struggled for his life.
Mr. White, who was shot Jan. 12 in Over-the-Rhine, might have identified his assailant by blinking his eyes when police showed him photos, a longtime family friend, Karen Baskin, said Sunday.
The 61-year-old Winton Hills man died late Saturday at University Hospital. On Sunday, the Cincinnati homicide unit said other charges are anticipated against Diego Villas, a Price Hill man charged with shooting Mr. White.
Mr. Villas, 28, who has been at the Hamilton County Justice Center since his arrest Jan. 21, was indicted last week by a Hamilton County grand jury on one count of felonious assault.
Homicide Sgt. John Newsom said Sunday that police would discuss possible new charges with prosecutors. He also indicated that Mr. White, during his hospitalization, tried to non-verbally provide information to police, but was unsure whether it was successful.
“Yes, he (Mr. White) did know,” said Ms. Baskin, a worker at Joe's Cafe in Over-the-Rhine, which Mr. White left shortly before he was shot. “I went to see him a couple of times. From what I heard, he blinked his eyes at a photo police showed him.”
Mr. White, a regular at Joe's, apparently was driving his Dodge Caravan on East 12th Street when he was shot in the torso by a passenger. Police responding to a traffic accident found Mr. White bleeding in his van. Mr. Villas later surrendered.
“That was a very, very dearest friend of mine,” Ms. Baskin said. “Mickey was sweet as can be. There's a lot of grief here.”
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