Sunday, March 26, 2000
Shooting shocks Franklin
Husband accused of murder
BY JAMES PILCHER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FRANKLIN — One day after a domestic shooting left a woman dead at a local machine shop, Franklin residents were still trying to comprehend why violence had erupted.
Authorities on Saturday released no new details as residents of this small industrial town about halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton mourned.
“This is such a shock to this town,” said Robin Walter, owner of The Clip Joint hair salon in downtown Franklin. “We call it "Little Mayberry,' and my kids say I work at Floyd's Barber Shop. We're proud of being a small, quiet town, and we're not used to this.”
According to police, Michael D. Pardon, 26, killed his wife, Shirley, Friday evening as she worked the second shift at Digitron Inc., an auto parts maker near the Ohio 73 interchange of Interstate 75.
Mrs. Pardon, 39, died after being shot twice. The two were seen arguing in the parking lot before Mrs. Pardon began her shift, police said.
Mr. Pardon also is charged with shooting his brother-in-law, James D. Allen, 36, in the leg.
Mr. Pardon is being held in the Warren County Jail on charges of aggravated murder,
attempted murder and aggravated assault. His arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Mr. Allen, 36, was released Saturday from Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, a hospital spokeswoman said. Reached at his home in Kettering, Mr. Allen refused to comment.
Another Digitron worker, Charles Weaver, was treated and released from Sycamore Hospital for unspecified injuries sustained while helping disarm Mr. Pardon.
Even though Mr. Pardon apparently kept shooting as he went through the building, Mr. Weaver and several other Digitron employees were able to subdue him.
Rick Tucker, who has owned the local Mr. Frosty ice cream stand for 24 years, said that he “never dreamed anything like that could happen here.”
“We haven't heard that many sirens in a long time,” Mr. Tucker said. “We're too small a community to have something like this happen.”
Attempts to reach Mr. Weaver were unsuccessful, and a Digitron worker who pulled up late Saturday morning to the plant said that neither he nor other workers wanted to speak to the media.
Franklin Police officials also refused further comment on the shootings. A department spokeswoman re ferred all questions to the department chief or Capt. Gerry Massey, both of whom were unavailable, she said.
Less than two miles away from the shooting site, many of the Pardons' neighbors said they didn't know the couple.
“I didn't even know they lived here until I saw it on the news,” said Shawn Forman, 23, as he worked on his car in the parking lot outside the building.
Sheila Chapman, manager of the 144-unit Franklin House Apartment complex, said that she didn't know the couple very well. They had moved into the area from Tennessee in January.
Ms. Chapman would not comment on whether she knew of any problems between the couple or whether police had ever been called because of a domestic dispute.
Resident Alvin Hale said the town's few bars experience an occasional weekend fight, and that a man was beaten to death after such a melee a couple of years ago.
On Saturday, several young men sped down Main Street, throwing beer cans at each other's cars as they raced through the city's commercial district.
But Mr. Hale said that Franklin hasn't seen anything like this shooting in a long time.
“We get told we're a bunch of hillbilly rednecks all the time, but there's something to be said about being a little country and laid back,” said Mr. Hale, a Franklin native. “And the fact that those guys jumped in (to stop the shooting suspect) says a lot about our community.”
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