27-03-2025
Canton man held on $1M bond after arrest for Canton Township fatal shooting
CANTON ‒ A judge has set a $1 million bond for a man who is charged with murder, accused of fatally shooting a 75-year-old Vietnam War veteran at a Canton Township bar.
Judge Dennis Barr set the bond at Thursday's arraignment of Samuel D. Shank in Canton Municipal Court. Shank, of southwest Canton, is charged with murder in connection with the death of Phillip L. Harris of northwest Canton.
Harris died early Tuesday at a Canton hospital after being shot late Monday at the Old Landmark Tavern at 5224 Ridge Ave. SE in Canton Township.
Kristina Lockwood, chief assistant Canton prosecutor, asked for a high bond "due to the very serious allegations."
"The defendant in this case is accused of shooting a 75-year-old Vietnam veteran in a bar where he was not permitted to even have a firearm," she said.
Public defender Scott O'Meara entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of Shank, who appeared in court by video link from the Stark County Jail.
911 caller: Fatal Canton Twp. bar shooting stemmed from criticism over poor pool play
His next scheduled court appearance is a status hearing to be held Monday morning.
Monday's shooting followed an argument at the bar over playing pool, a bartender told an emergency dispatcher in a 911 call.
'(The gunman) was playing pool with one of the regulars," she said. "And he walked over to one of the girls and she was telling him like he was playing pool wrong or whatever. And then he was like no (she) disrespected me and he went after her and then the next thing you know all of the regulars are going after him. And I ran outside to get one of the guys that's outside. And when I came back in that's when the gun went off. And I looked and I have a guy down on the floor.'
The woman said the gunman prevented people from providing help to the victim.
"He's drunk as (expletive)," she said. "He started getting in all the dudes' faces and just being belligerent. I don't know what's wrong with him. … He let me run out. But that's when he was pointing a gun at my head telling me he'll (expletive) kill me. One guy's in there dead for sure.'
Canton Township tavern: Canton man charged with murder after fatal shooting
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Judge sets $1 million bond for Samuel Shank in Phillip Harris case
