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DAYTON — Bradley Derek was watering his Fairview Avenue lawn early Friday morning, June 27, when he saw a man lying in an alley behind his backyard shed.

A woman walking to the bus stop in the 2200 block of Ravenwood Avenue discovered the body of a black man at about 6 a.m. in the middle of the alley that runs parallel with Fairview Avenue.

"She was just panicked, and I didn't know what was going on," Derek said. "I didn't even see the guy laying back there until she said something."

Dayton police Sgt. Moises Perez said the man's death is a homicide. The victim had blood on his face and appeared to be in his 20s or 30s, police said.

The victim was wearing a white T-shirt with black jean shorts and a red skull cap. His shoes were found about 100 feet away from the alley's entrance off Ravenwood Avenue. Blood was found near the entrance to the alley.

Police are not releasing the name of the man until his family is notified.

Perez said the man had been there overnight. There were no suspects late Friday.

Residents said they've heard fireworks the last few nights, but nothing out of the ordinary.