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Father recounts call from site of standoff
By Gina Mace
Special to the Beacon Journal
Published on Friday, Aug 28, 2009
BARBERTON: Marc A. Ross asked his dad for a favor before he killed himself early Wednesday during a standoff with police.
Russell Ross said his son told him he had a gun to his head and he wasn't going back to prison.
''He said, 'Dad, remember I love you,' '' Russ Ross said. ''He has an 18-year-old son.
''He said, 'Try to straighten him out. Try to get him to stay straight.' ''
And then Russ Ross said the phone line went dead.
When the phone rang again, Russ Ross said it was the police negotiator telling him that his 38-year-old son was dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Marc Ross was pronounced dead at Akron City Hospital at 9:30 a.m. —31/2 hours after
shooting himself while barricaded in a bedroom at a home in the 1400 block of Ettle Drive.
Barberton police said Marc Ross retreated to the bedroom after officers arrived to arrest him around 1:20 a.m.
Russell Ross said at one point during the five-hour standoff, his son admitted to robbing drug dealers of money and drugs.
''He said, 'Dad, if they find out what I've been doing, I'm going back to prison,' '' Russell Ross said. ''He said he finds out a guy is dealing drugs, he's been beating the hell out of them, taking their money and taking their drugs.''
About three hours before the standoff began, Doylestown police were called about a home invasion on North Portage Street.
Doylestown Police Chief Brian Dressler said one man went into the home with a gun. The man fled with a purse and a wallet.
Dressler said the home's occupants identified Marc Ross as the robber.
''We're still sorting it out,'' Dressler said. ''The suspicion is he knew it was a place where he could purchase drugs, and he went in there to take them at gunpoint.''
An alert went out to area police departments to be on the lookout for the Chevy Silverado seen fleeing the scene.
A Barberton police officer spotted the vehicle pulling into an Ettle Drive driveway.
Authorities say that when officers knocked on the door of the home and asked for Marc Ross, Robert L. White, 43, of Prospect Street, reportedly said he wasn't there.
Police found David P. White, 38, of Ettle Drive, and Marc Ross' wife, Dana M. Ross, 37, of Ettle Drive, hiding in a bathroom.
William J. White, 40, of Douglass Avenue, came out of the bedroom where Marc Ross was hiding. Authorities say he told police he didn't know the man who was still in the bedroom.
All four face one count each of obstructing official business.
Ross said he knows his son was no angel. Marc Ross spent five years in prison for robbery, burglary and failure to comply with the orders of a peace officer. He was released in 2007.
In 2008, he was found guilty of vandalism and aggravated possession of drugs in Summit County Common Pleas Court.
Judge Judith Hunter placed him on probation for three years.
Ross was wanted on warrants for violating both his probation and prison parole.
Russell Ross said he pleaded with his son to just give up.
'' 'Dad, I can't come out,' '' Ross said his son told him. '' 'If they put me back in prison, I'm dead in six months. I can't go back. I'll end it here rather than go back.' ''
Ross said he has raised eight children and has already buried one. A stepson died in a construction accident 14 years ago.
That death affected Marc, Russell Ross said.
''He went on drugs, and this is what it's done to him,'' Russell Ross said. ''I guess it's all over now.''
BARBERTON: Marc A. Ross asked his dad for a favor before he killed himself early Wednesday during a standoff with police.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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A hood near you, OH
Posted 09:25 AM, 08/28/2009
My heart goes out to Mr. Ross. I can not begin to imagine how he must of felt while waiting for that next phone call, helpless to do anything to try to save his son.
Very sad.
Norton, Oh
Posted 11:39 AM, 08/28/2009
If Judge Hunter had given him time instead of probation, maybe he would have gotten the help he needed to straighten himself out. This is a sad story.
akron, oh
Posted 01:55 PM, 08/28/2009
@zapdog: Don't kid yourself. He was victimized in jail, and knew it would happen again. He had no chance to fix his life, while in jail. He was just trying to survive.
Norton, Oh
Posted 04:31 PM, 08/28/2009
@stleo - who do you blame, if in fact, he was victimized in jail? Who's actions put him there in the first place? How do you know he was victimized, and in what regard are you speaking? Apparantly, you must know this person because you appear to have first hand knowledge of his stay in the stir. Jail is not supposed to be a pleasant experience. And, if you dont want to go back, you must change your lifestyle. He victimized others with the crimes he committed, and refused to follow his probation requirements. Maybe locking him in a mental health facility within the prison (yes, they ALL have one) may have helped save his troubled soul. He, unfortunately, victimized himself.
akron/texas, oh
Posted 05:44 PM, 08/28/2009
dam
New Franklin, Oh
Posted 06:51 PM, 08/28/2009
Life is not fair sometimes but we all decide to take whatever path we want in life. It is a sad thing when someone dies. I feel bad that a family lost a son but like I said we all decide what path to take!
akron, OH
Posted 12:17 AM, 08/29/2009
I feel bad for the dad, but c'mon, death or a few years in prison? I'll take prison. And he had kids of his own? dude.
akron, oh
Posted 01:02 AM, 08/29/2009
i just want to say i knew marc before he got on drugs and he was a nice man who would help anyone and was a wonderfull father too his daughter and sons and a very nice neighbor who helped us all if our car broke or a tree needed cut down he was there and never asked for a dime he was a good provider for his family, and it hurts me that people can be so cruel to say the things i have read on here yes he did bad but hes gone we need to think about his kids and family thats left trying to cope with their grief and i know he just had a grandson born 5 months ago that will never know him and his daughter was very hurt and dont understand why people are saying things so cruel about her dad. so please think about the survivors in this story. he has to answer to the only one that counts and thats god. my prayers are with the mother of his children and family to find strength to carry on.and raise them on her own now.
AKRON, ohio
Posted 07:09 AM, 08/29/2009
If he was tough enough that when "He said he finds out a guy is dealing drugs, he's been beating the hell out of them, taking their money and taking their drugs.'' But he can't handle prison???
Maybe not such a tough guy after all.
Maybe we're better off, after all.
Akron, Oh
Posted 08:24 AM, 08/29/2009
mothernature...
I must say I sleep better every night when I hear another criminal has been taken off the street or has been killed, whether it was by their own hand, another criminal's or whoever. If you know this family I would highly recommend that you tell them to stay off this site for a while since I've never seen anyone here who has had any simpathy for a drug abusing criminal.
Canton, Oh
Posted 06:17 PM, 08/29/2009
shaddup...commonsense...hearing and talking, hearing and talking, just a blowhard yapping in the wind. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Write something mean, psst.
I pity the fool, now what are you going to do? Such a tuff guy, flexing your big internet muscles hahahaha...You are a big juoke.
Akron, Oh
Posted 07:07 AM, 08/30/2009
Hey Sardine...
Take your meds dude, you're looking a little foolish.
