The brother of an Akron murder victim, is now accused of shooting up a house in retaliation, Vernon Singleton, 26, was arrested Thursday evening. His sister, Erica, was shot to death early Thursday at a home on Grant Street.

By JAMES W. WADE III

Staff Reporter

Two bodies were discovered inside a house at 829 Mercer Avenue in Akron. The police are calling it a double homicide. Sara Scott, 43, of Mercer Avenue, and Donald Golden, 63, from New Philadelphia, were found shot to death inside the Akron home.

Police do not yet know if anything was taken from the house and there were no apparent signs of a break-in, such as broken glass or pry marks on the doors. Captain Daniel Zampelli said authorities received a call that morning from a woman who said there were two bodies inside the home. Police would not release the name of the woman who contacted police.

Zampelli said Scott and Golden were found in the living room. It was not clear how many times they had been shot or how long their bodies had been there.

"The crime scene unit unit was very meticulous in looking for evidence," Zampelli said.

There's no apparent indication of a break-in, and I've not been notified that it was a break-in, although that's something we would be looking at," Zampelli said. Police said both Scott and Golden were found dead on the lower level of the house in the same room.

The brother of an Akron murder victim, is now accused of shooting up a house in retaliation, Vernon Singleton, 26, was arrested Thursday evening. His sister, Erica, was shot to death early Thursday at a home on Grant Street.

Police say Singleton and two other men fired 41 rounds at a home in the 1100 block of Arnold Avenue. A bullet grazed 23 year-old Naisha Finale’s head. Her four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son where also home, but not injured.

Akron police were in the area, heard the gunshots and responded. Besides Singleton, officers also arrested Steven Johnson, 30, and Sheldon Bell, 21. They are charged with felonious assault.

Since Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011, there have been nine people shot in the City of Akron, resulting in six deaths. According to police, the shootings here are not random acts of violence. The victims appear to have been targeted for reasons still under investigation.

Erica Singleton, 28, and her boyfriend Ernest Thomas, Jr, 31, were shot to death at 1104 Grant Street. Tramein L. Walker, 27, was found shot to death in 700 block of Roselle Avenue.

In all of 2010 Akron had 22 murders; they currently have 23 for 2011 with a few days to go. Akron's four-year increase in violent crime is in contrast to the national rate, which declined for the third straight year.

There are no real answers to the increase the police department stated. Among the theories: As overall economic activity slows, more people who otherwise would be at work are unemployed and at home, and when they do travel they are not as likely to carry items of value, so burglaries and street robberies decline.

Anyone with information on any of the murders should contact Akron Police at (330) 375-2181 or the Akron Detective Bureau at (330) 375-2490.