Mansfield Times

From January 19, 2023 post.

In Remembrance (27 years ago)

Date: January 19, 1996 3:15 am

Location: I - 71 Northbound at mile post 190. North of US-250, Ashland, Ohio 

Subject: Trooper James R. Gross, age 27, a graduate of the 124th cadet class June 25, 1993.

Events leading up to the shooting:

According to Doug Miller Former Lieutenant of Ohio State Highway Patrol, at 5:00pm on January 18, 1996, Maxwell White advised his mother that he was not going to work. He was employed by Kroger and worked at their warehouse in Columbus, Ohio. 

White left the house and did not return home until midnight. He was intoxicated which led to a loud lengthy argument. His mother was concerned neighbors would call the police on her son, knowing he had been convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and was still on probation. 

His mother also knew he was angry with police because he believed that they had harassed him on prior occasions. When White learned that his mother had called his sister Dorothy to come to the house, he became so angry that he began destroying things in the house. 

Due to his prior conviction, White knew, he was not permitted to have a gun, but he went to his cabinet and grabbed a handgun.

When his sister arrived, he forced both of them downstairs at gun point and tied them up, but in the process, White accidentally shot his mother in the right ankle/foot. As he left, he stated, that “I am not going back to jail, it would be better going to the morgue.”

When White got in his vehicle and left, his Mother and Sister were able to free themselves, and call the Reynoldsburg Police Department. 

Local Law Enforcement Agencies in Central Ohio were advised of the event and were given a description of the vehicle. However, it was unknown where he would go. 

The Shooting Of Trooper Gross:

January 19, 1996, at approximately 3:00 am, at the Ashland Post (while giving the dispatcher a break), Trooper Gross overheard CB radio traffic of a possible drunk driver. 

Truck drivers reported, the driver was heading northbound on I-71 approaching the Ashland exit. Trooper Gross immediately left the Ashland Post, and located the vehicle with assistance of commercial drivers using CB radio. 

Unfortunately, Trooper Gross was not aware of the events, that transpired at White’s mothers house hours earlier in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Trooper Gross, believing he was just stopping a possible drunk driver, made the stop in the Northbound Lane of I-71, at milepost 190.

Trooper Gross approached the driver’s side of the vehicle to make contact with the driver.  It is unclear whether the driver’s window would not roll down, the driver decided to open his door, or Trooper Gross told the driver to open the door.

A witness stated that the driver’s door was opened by the driver. It is believed that Gross was standing just a few feet from the driver, and Trooper Gross must have observed the gun. At this point, Trooper Gross turned to move away, and the driver fired a single round from a .45 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun. 

This bullet struck Trooper Gross in the left elbow area, traveled down his arm, exiting at his wrist. Later this bullet was located stuck to the liner of his jacket. 

Trooper Gross being left-handed, and now without use of his gun hand, retreated away from the vehicle. 

A witness stated, “Trooper Gross slipped and fell, got back up, and had started running back toward the patrol vehicle bent forward, when they saw, and heard two more shots being fired.”

One of the two rounds fired, struck Trooper Gross just above the belt line, and below the soft body armor he was wearing. 

According to the Coroner’s report, the bullet traveled upward, and severed his aortic arch, most likely killing him instantly. Trooper Gross fell at the rear of his patrol car. At this point, White left the scene and drove off going Northbound on I-71. 

White wrecked his vehicle while trying to exit the interstate at SR-18, Medina exit. White was then subsequently captured without incident. 

Original source can be found here.