Ronnie R. Brown, a 43-year-old man from Canton, Ohio, died after an early-morning shooting on Sunday, June 14, 2026. The case began around 3 a.m., when Canton police were called to the 1900 block of Sixth Street NE after multiple 911 callers reported gunfire. When officers reached the Hillview Apartments, they found Brown in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to his upper back.
Police and emergency responders tried to keep him alive at the scene.
Officers provided first aid and CPR until Canton Fire Department paramedics arrived, and Brown was taken to Aultman Hospital. He died a short time later. His death was reported as a fatal shooting, and online gun-violence memorial records also list him as having been lost to gun violence that same day in Canton.
Investigators quickly focused on a suspect. Canton police identified Leann M. Haynes, 38, of Canton, and arrested her at her residence on Sunday. Authorities said Haynes was charged with murder in connection with Brown's death. Reports based on Canton police information described the accusation as Haynes shooting Brown in the back in the area of the 1900 block of Sixth Street NE, though officials had not released a detailed account of what led up to the shooting.
Haynes appeared in Canton Municipal Court by video from the Stark County Jail on Tuesday, June 16, 2026. During that hearing, Judge Katie Erchick Gilbert set her bond at $1.5 million. Haynes was scheduled to return to court for a status conference at 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 18, 2026. At the end of the bond hearing, Haynes asked the judge whether posting bond would mean she could get out and return to court on her own, and the judge confirmed that it would, with an attorney indicating the process would be explained to her.
As of the available reports, Haynes was the only publicly named suspect and the only person reported arrested in the killing of Ronnie R. Brown. No trial, plea, conviction or sentencing had been reported. Police said the investigation remained ongoing and asked anyone with information to contact the Canton Police Communications Center, the Canton Police Detective Bureau, Tip411 or Stark County Crime Stoppers.
