Police: Man dies of self-inflicted wound after gunfight with Riverside officer

Records show Kevlin Wallace was just released from prison in October.

A preliminary autopsy report indicates a Springfield man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound Tuesday night after exchanging gunfire with a Riverside police officer.

The man was identified as 39-year-old Kevlin L. Wallace by Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger.

Riverside police were called around 10:25 p.m. Tuesday to the 2500 block of Rondowa Avenue on a reported burglary in progress, Riverside police Maj. Adam Colon said.

The first officer to respond was Sgt. James Vance, who found a “highly upset” woman who pointed toward a possible suspect, according to a release from the Riverside Police Department.

Vance turned toward the suspect, later identified as Wallace, who reportedly shot at Vance. The sergeant, a 24-year veteran, fired multiple rounds in an exchange of gunfire with Wallace that lasted about 30 seconds, the release stated.

Wallace then ran away, heading toward North Pleasant Valley and Bushnell avenues.

A countywide “Signal 99″ for officer assistance was issued for backup and to block off the area as Vance and officer Richard Perfetti searched for Wallace, the release stated.

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Perfetti saw Wallace a few minutes later near the back of a home in the 200 block of North Pleasant Valley Avenue. While directing other officers to Wallace, Perfetti reported hearing a single gunshot, police said.

Perfetti, a second Riverside officer and Dayton officers approached the backyard, where they found Wallace with a gunshot wound to his head.

Police began to administer aid and called medics to the scene. Wallace was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he died of his injury.

Vance is on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, which is standard procedure. He is the only officer who fired his duty weapon, according to the release.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations was requested by Riverside to investigate.

“BCI’s criminal investigation remains active and ongoing — as such, there are no further details to share at this time,” said Steve Irwin, press secretary for the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Colon said several local police agencies responded to assist, including the Dayton Police Department, Huber Heights Police Division, Five Rivers MetroParks Police and Butler Twp. Police Department.

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At the shooting scene, investigators placed numerous evidence markers, and a red pickup truck parked in a driveway had several bullet holes in its side.

Wallace, formerly of Trotwood, was on parole at the time of his death.

He pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to an October 1999 aggravated robbery and kidnapping. He was released from prison in October 2020, court and Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction records show.

Credit: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction

Credit: Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction