Ohio Suspect's Neighbors Didn't Know His Name

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Most people living in a neighborhood of tidy vinyl-sided homes didn't know much about the quiet man who moved into a house there with his mother about a year ago. Most didn't even know his name.

Then they saw his picture on television Monday night, as investigators looking into 24 highway shootings around Columbus said they were seeking Charles A. McCoy Jr. (search), who was considered armed and dangerous.

The Franklin County (search) Sheriff's Office issued an arrest warrant for McCoy, 28, in a Dec. 15 shooting that left a bullet in the bathtub of a south Columbus home — a bullet matched by lab tests with eight other shootings. The other highway shootings had been linked by location and circumstance.

Knots of people milled on driveways and lawns on McCoy's street Monday night. A real estate agent briefly drove up to remove a "for sale" sign from in front of the house.

No one really seemed to know the man and his mother, said Nicole Sewald, 28, whose family lives across the street. Her 8-year-old son attends Hamilton Central Elementary School, where one of the sniper's bullets went through a window one night in early November.

"I think my husband said once that they were having trouble selling the house because the shootings in the area," she said.

Franklin County Municipal Court records mainly show traffic tickets for McCoy. His most recent speeding ticket was on Nov. 4, after the first five shootings but before investigators saw the pattern.

The shootings weren't linked until the Nov. 25 shooting of Gail Knisley (search), who was killed while riding in a car on I-270.

No one answered the door at the McCoy home Monday night. Neighbors could recall few interactions with the family.

"I didn't know his name until today and he's lived there a year," said Ryan Conley, 18, who lives next door. "I never knew him having a job. I never saw him smile."

Conley said McCoy yelled at children for playing loudly in the street. Another neighbor said he complained about loud music.

"If we were washing the car and turned the radio on, he'd come over and complain," Vincent Canada said.

McCoy's mother bought the house after it had been foreclosed, said Linda Large, president of the homeowners association. Neighbors said Charles McCoy did some repairs, and it went back up for sale soon afterward.

"They pretty much stayed in their house when they were home except when he was working in the yard," Sewald said.