Friday, April 28, 2000
Newport teen guilty of murder
By Susan Vela
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEWPORT — Newport teen Michael McIntosh was convicted Thursdayof murdering Newport High School basketball star Anthony “Petey” Greene, who was trying to protect a friend when shot on Isabella Street last July.
Mr. McIntosh, 18, of West Eighth Street, will face life in prison when he is sentenced June 6 in Campbell Circuit Court. A jury found him guilty of wanton murder for fatally shooting Mr. Greene, 18, and attempted manslaughter for shooting at Gabe Krull, the friend and classmate whom Mr. Greene was trying to save when he was shot in his chest and died almost instantly.
The guilty verdicts came after three hours of deliberations. The jury deliberated another half hour before announcing its recommendation that Mr. McIntosh spend the rest of his life in prison.
Jurors considered his previous juvenile convictions — for theft, wanton endanger ment, first-degree riot, burglary and assault under extreme emotional disturbance — when considering a sentence.
Mr. McIntosh “was no newcomer to the system,” said Jack Porter, assistant commonwealth attorney for Campbell County. ""He wasn't starting at square one. This guy walked up and destroyed many, many lives.
“The victims were doing nothing. They were hanging out with their buddies. There wasn't any illegal activity. They weren't even being loud. They were just standing around listening to music.”
As a senior, Mr. Greene was most valuable player of Newport High School's basketball team. He had hoped to play for Northern Kentucky University or Cincinnati State.
“I just found it to be a very sad case,” Mr. Porter said. “Pete Greene was just a real good guy, a great basketball player, with a bright future ahead of him.”
In closing arguments, Mr. Porter and public defender Pat Walsh painted different portraits of what happened July 21.
According to Mr. Porter, Mr. Greene, Mr. Krull and Mr. Greene's sister, Andrea, had gone to an east side home to play board games. They left around 9:30 p.m. and ventured to the 900 block of Isabella Street, where they met some friends.
That's when Mark Dean, Mr. Krull's co-worker at a Newport carwash, came along. Newport police have said they fought over money before Mr. Dean left to get reinforcements.
Soon after, Mr. McIntosh approached Mr. Krull, holding a .380-caliber pistol above his head and jerking back the slide.
“He's come as the enforcer. He's coming to take care of business. No one had a weapon but one person. He was in control. He was calling the shots,” Mr. Porter told jury members.
Mr. McIntosh shot at Mr. Krull, nicking him on the
cheek, and at Mr. Greene, who had tried to stop Mr. McIntosh's actions.
Mr. Walsh countered that Mr. McIntosh was defending himself when he shot the gun. He recalled Mr. McIntosh's statement to police and court testimony that Mr. Greene had him in a headlock and a crowd of other young men were approaching when he shot.
“The defendant without a doubt is guilty of making some bad decisions. When he went out to the street, compounded by his taking a gun — those were both extreme grave errors in judgment. But you don't put people in prison for those type of errors,” Mr. Walsh said. “If Petey hadn't grabbed him from behind, maybe a shot never would have been fired.”
Mr. Porter countered that Mr. McIntosh suffered only minor abrasions and a sore nose that night — no indication of his life being threatened. He conceded, though, that Mr. Greene's friends had “got a few knocks in” and went to beat Mr. McIntosh after the shooting.
“They inflicted a little street justice,” he said.
Vanessa Greene, Petey's mother, left the courtroom during Mr. Porter's closing. He was describing how Andrea Greene cradled her brother after the shooting.
“She said, "Get up, Petey, get up. Don't leave me,'” he said.
Andrea Greene, still in the courtroom, wept. She has a tattoo of her brother on her arm. His name is tattooed on her neck. At least 30 of Mr. Greene's friends and relatives were in the courtroom.
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