Injured man describes scene of shooting that killed girl, 16

A 21-year-old man injured in a Fairfield Twp. double shooting that killed a 16-year-old told police he was fighting for his life with two armed men when the shooting occurred, according to court documents obtained by the Journal-News.

Sydney Garcia-Tovar was fatally shot in the vehicle shortly after 10:30 p.m. Monday in the 7500 block of Wildbranch Road in the Tyler’s Creek apartments.

Joseph Goolsby, 21, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening during the shooting, according to Fairfield Twp. Police Chief Robert Chabali.

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Garcia-Tovar was the driver of the vehicle that crashed into three parked cars after gunshots rang out, according to the court documents.

Goolsby, Garcia-Tovar and two others were in the vehicle, police have said.

Goolsby told Fairfield Twp. Detective Jamie Mays and Daniel Tinch that he had been shot in the arm and leg during an interview shortly after the incident, the court documents reveal.

“Goolsby said he was not inside the vehicle during the shooting. Goolsby explained he was in the area to visit a girl he met that morning at Taco Bell,” the affidavit for a search warrant states.

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Goolsby said he heard gunshots as two men approached the back of the vehicle. He said he saw one of the gunmen walking down the middle of the street, according to the court document.

“Goolsby said one of the gunmen pointed the gun at his head. Goolsby said he fought for his life with one of the gunmen and was able to remove a tan pistol from the man’s hand,” the document states.

During the commotion, Goolsby said he believed the second gunman shot twice.

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“Goolsby said the gunman he was fighting with kept pulling the trigger and (he) heard the gun attempted to fire, but never did. Goolsby said once he removed that pistol from the gunman, he dropped it and took off running north,” the detectives state in the court document.

Goolsby denied to detectives that he knew anyone in the vehicle, but detectives noted that when he was told the driver of the car had died, he began crying.

During an interview with detectives, the female passenger in the vehicle said she and Garcia-Tovar picked up a male passenger on Seventh Avenue in Hamilton at about 9 p.m. She did not know the other male that was with him, but identified him as Goolsby from a photo shown to her by detectives as the fourth person in the vehicle.

A cell phone believed to belong to Goolsby was found in the back passenger seat of the vehicle with blood on it.

Detectives are making “good progress” on the case, according to Chabali. No arrests had been made as of Friday afternoon.

The case remains under investigation, and anyone with information is urged to contact Mays at 513-785-4178.

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