We take a look at our third cold case as part of a series with the Lima Police Department.
It was the night of Sept. 25, 2005, around the intersection of W. Market St. and N. Metcalf St. 53-year-old Lucious Upshaw was leaving some friends’ home at 555 W. Market St. As he got into his Cadillac to leave, someone had been waiting for him and opened fire into his car.
"He was struck and then the car was creeping towards Market Street," Sgt. Jason Garlock, detective with LPD. "It was like it was in park and it was—I think it actually struck a police cruiser and then came to a halt."
Upshaw was taken to the hospital but later died from his injuries.
"We do not believe this was in any way, shape or form that this was a random act of violence," said Garlock. "We believe that Mr. Upshaw was targeted for some reason that is unknown to us."
Police spoke to the friends he visited and family members, but never learned of any clear cut story that led to a suspect.
No witnesses saw the shooting, but some physical evidence was collected.
"It was an extremely rainy night which made a lot of the physical evidence extremely hard to preserve at the time," Garlock said. "What was preserved, we’re going back through to see if we can re-examine anything for new scientific methods."
This is the third cold case we’ve revisited in 2020. Garlock said the efforts haven’t gone unnoticed as tips have poured in for the previous cases.
"I’m getting so much in, it’s just now sitting down and hashing through these and getting good notes," said Garlock. "But have gotten a lot of positive feedback from all these cases so far."
If you remember anything about Upshaw’s murder or the previous cold cases (Jon Bryant and Mary Mosley), LPD encourages you to give them a call at 419-227-4444.
