Cops: Man held in teen's death has violent past
LaShonda Childs, 17, died Wednesday after being shot a day earlier.
A Dayton teenager died two days shy of her 18th birthday after family members said she was unable to get away from domestic violence inflicted by a 28-year-old former boyfriend, who allegedly hit and bit her in February.
LaShonda Childs, 17, died early Wednesday morning after she was shot Tuesday and driven to Grandview Medical Center. Childs called 911 before the shooting, giving the dispatcher a Shoop Avenue address and Trendell Goodwin’s name and description.
Goodwin, Childs’ former boyfriend, was later arrested at a residence on Mumma Avenue.
“This dude got a gun pointed to my boyfriend’s head,” Childs told the 911 dispatcher on Tues- day. “I’ve got a restraining order on him. The police told me to call when I see him. I gave you the address. Can’t you just send somebody out there? I’m scared. He’s got a gun. I can’t talk ... I can’t talk. I’m in a bad situation.”
Police were dispatched to multiple scenes for the incident. Part of Shoop Avenue was blocked off, and investigators went to Grandview Medical Center once it was learned a victim had been taken there.
People in the neighborhood interviewed by homicide and Special Victims Unit detectives
said they heard “a number of gunshots” and possibly saw a vehicle speed away.
Police apprehended Goodwin at about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday. He is being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a preliminary count of felonious assault.
A Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson said Wednesday that investigators will meet this afternoon to review possible murder charges against Goodwin.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office said Childs’ autopsy happened Wednesday, and her death was ruled a homicide due to a gunshot wound to the head.
Goodwin allegedly hit and bit Childs in February and recently threatened to kill another woman who suggested he get help after he posted about suicide on Facebook, according to Dayton police records.
Childs’ brother, Jaylon, said his younger sister had a bright spirit.
“She was really in the process of leaving this time, but it was basically a fatal attraction,” Jaylon told this news organization. “Whatever happens to him, we can’t get our sister back, but as long as justice is served, there may be some peace.”
Nina Childs, LaShonda’s mother, said Goodwin initially told her daughter that he was 20 years old, not in his late 20s, around September 2017. Nina said her daughter first tried to get away from Goodwin a couple of months after that.
Nina said there was an altercation between Goodwin and her daughter on Sept. 12, 2018. On Sept. 15, 2018, Nina alleged that Goodwin shot up her home. The allegation of Nina’s home being fired at is included in a Dayton police report.
“It’s very devastating,” she said. “It’s something that will be devastating for the rest of my life, based on the fact that he felt that if he couldn’t have her ... but she didn’t belong to him. That was my child, you know.”
Nina said Goodwin sent her son a text saying he didn’t care about going to jail. Facebook posts appearing to belong to Goodwin and Childs show a contentious relationship, with many people commenting both before and after Childs’ death.
On Feb. 19, Goodwin was arrested after Childs told police he hit her in the face and bit her left shoulder during an argument about text messages involving another woman.
“Childs had a fresh bite mark on her left shoulder,” a Dayton police officer wrote. “The left side of her face was swollen where she claimed Goodwin hit her. She also had ... abrasions on the right side of her neck and her nose was bleeding at one point.”
Goodwin was arrested that day. Dayton Municipal Court and jail records show he served 19 days of a 180-day sentence for misdemeanor assault. Goodwin also was ordered not to have contact with Childs, received home detention and was ordered to receive counseling.
Goodwin was ordered on Sept. 10, 2018, to continue on probation for another year pursuant to the terms originally imposed April 24. On Sept. 25, Goodwin’s attorney filed a motion for termination of probation.
On Sept. 22, a woman told Dayton police that a “Trenny Mack” on Facebook threatened to kill her after she suggested he get help but that she didn’t wish to pursue charges. The woman also said she knew Childs’ name.
The officer wrote he deduced it was Goodwin and knew about his issues with an ex-girlfriend. A week earlier, the same Dayton officer responded to a Sept. 15 complaint about shots fired into a residence on North Upland.
Goodwin received community control after pleading guilty to a 2016 felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon. His probation ended after one year of what could have been five years of community control, according to court records.
Dayton police reports show a history of altercations between Goodwin and various women, including his mother, his sister and other ex-girlfriends.
Goodwin has been booked into the Montgomery County Jail about 15 times for various offenses starting in 2011. Most cases were not prosecuted, according to jail records.